I will flat out admit it: I have never been on the Dean's List in college and I am okay with that. I have been really close but have never been part of that elite group who received all A's and B's. And it does not bother me one bit.

There are people out there who can try their very best and still not do as well as they would have hoped. This does not mean they are stupid, a lost cause or anything of that nature. It just means their brains work differently. Yes, people can try to raise their grades and put in the extra work, but that does not always mean success. People should go at their pace and see what works best for them.

As stated in a previous article: grades do not define you. Grades are just a way to see if you can retain information and pass a class. The real way to see if someone is good at something is for them to use them in real-world applications. While it is preparing you for the outside world, college is not the real world.

I do a lot of my best work outside of the classroom such as writing for the college newspaper. This allows me to discover and show what I am able to do without the worry of grades lingering over me. There are ways for other students to follow the same path. Find something you are passionate about and keep practicing. Nobody expects you to be perfect (and if someone does then are not the person to associate with).

Focus on yourself and your talents. You should definitely try your best in class, but it is not the end of the world if you do not do as well as you would have liked. Get out there and discover what you do best and continue practicing.