Most people who know me have heard me go on and on about how great my freshman year was. I made incredible friends, was able to start pursuing a career I am genuinely passionate about, and had an overall great experience. What I don’t tell everybody is how humbling that year was.
High school was a piece of cake for me. Good grades came easily, I knew everyone, and I was always 100 percent comfortable. When coming to college, I assumed it would be similar, just a little more work in an unfamiliar place. I was so wrong. College is competitive and hard. Being at the top of your class in high school is meaningless when you are thrown into classes with equally good students. I think that was the biggest wake up call for me.
I am not super proud of my GPA from freshman year. It definitely wasn’t bad, but I had thought I was better than that. Finite class made me cry, and I got C's on papers that would have been considered A’s in high school. I was shocked. Was my best really not good enough?
Students who were equally passionate and intelligent as me made me feel awful. Sitting next to kids who talked about how they interned at five different places over the summer while they were the president of three clubs and somehow still had time to breathe made me feel like I wasn’t doing enough. There was no way I could graduate and get a job if these kids are already killing it while I continue on like a normal human being.
Finally, I had to take a huge step back and actually look at my life. I was working hard. I was involved in things and never skipped class. I definitely wasn’t siting on my butt letting life pass by while being unproductive, so why wasn’t I living up to the standards I set for myself?
The answer? College is hard; it’s supposed to be. Not everything in life will be a walk in the park. I had to get over my way too big post-high school ego and realize that. The bad grades I got made me work even harder come finals and made me more determined to do well this year. And I really am doing well.
To all current freshmen about to encounter their first C’s: they happen, and it sucks. Work hard, actually do your best (I mean your real best, not your best at 3 a.m. the night before something is due) and ask for help when you need it. There is nothing wrong with admitting something is hard, and that is something I wish I had believed a long time ago. And as for those kids with resumes that seem like they should be framed in a national museum? Ignore them. You will succeed with your own ambition. Never let them make you feel bad, because chances are, they also feel like they aren’t doing enough.
