From first grade spelling tests, to Accelerated Reading tests in second and starting standardized tests in third... We are taught that to be a good student, we must achieve the highest of grades. We are classified into categories such as below average, proficient, advanced and accelerated. If you're anything like me, you always compared your scores with fellow classmates. You may have even felt shame if you scored lower than your BFF.
While these standardized tests end for the most part as students enter into high school, the pressure does not go away. Whether you're one of the kids that was pushed into honors and AP classes or not, the expectations still remain.
As a freshman, I had to take a physical science class. I ended the first semester with a B+. I actually cried. I was so upset. Maybe this sounds crazy... and that's because it is. The pressure to be the best student, to get the highest grades, to get the best scholarships, to go to the most elite universities is so great that I cried over one B+ because I knew my 4.0 GPA for high school was no longer attainable. I, like many others, had the thought shoved into my mind that if I didn't have a 4.0 GPA, no college would want me. This is SUCH. A. LIE.
It was this B+ that taught me the most important thing I learned in high school. I am more than a test. I am more than a grade card. I am more than how I perform in the classroom. I am a daughter, a sister, an aunt, a cousin, a niece, a friend. Most importantly, I am a child of the One True King. I am His beloved. I am adopted by God through Christ Jesus.
My grades aren't a reflection of my character. My grades do not define my worth or who I am as a person. My God does that.
The same goes for you. You are more than a test score. You are more than a GPA or some scholarship or membership in National Honor Society. You are more than what a silly piece of paper says. You are more than how well you can regurgitate information onto a piece of paper.
However, this is not me saying not to try. Try your hardest. Be all in. Honor the Lord in the classroom. Do it and do it well. But please, really and truly I am asking you, do not let a silly number define who you are as a person. You are so much more than that.
