To the kids who never made honor roll,
Don’t let your parents, teachers or your peers tell you that you are any less intelligent because your grade point average doesn’t amount to at least a 3.5. High school isn’t for everyone. Nobody can accommodate to your ways of learning, you can’t take classes geared toward your interests and sometimes teachers just aren’t going to give you the grade you deserve. This does not mean that you are less intelligent than that kid that got a 4.0.
To the kids who feel pressured to take advanced placement classes in high school,
Don’t. AP classes are not for everyone. They can be difficult, they can be stressful and some schools won’t offer AP classes that appeal to you. Do not take an AP class just because you feel as though you need one on your transcript. I took AP statistics senior year because I felt as though I didn’t have enough AP credits. The class was difficult, and I found myself struggling to pass it. In the end, I didn’t even end up taking the AP test, meaning it didn’t end up counting for college credit. Honestly, it didn’t affect me in the slightest.
To the kids who feel as though they are going to have to go to community college because of their grades,
I remember toward the end of my junior year I had to write a research paper for my history class. The deadline was 11:59 p.m. and the paper had to be at least 10 pages. I vaguely remembered my teacher telling the class that we could use Arial or Times New Roman font, so I chose Arial. At 11:58 p.m., the very last second, I finally submitted my paper. After submitting it, I changed the font to Times New Roman to see the length of the paper, and it was an entire page shorter! I broke out into tears. I was sure I would fail the paper and get a C in the class. My biggest fear? I wouldn’t get into university, and I would have to go to a community college for the first two years. There are so many things wrong with that mindset.
1. Why do so many high school students feel as though attending a community college is something to be ashamed of? The very stigma surrounding the topic is an issue in itself. Community college is a great way to save money and figure out what you really want before moving away from home.
2. Having a C on your transcript does not mean you won’t get into a university. What many high school students fail to realize, especially my junior self, was that not all colleges look for a 4.0 GPA. There are, in fact, a plethora of colleges that accept students with below a 3.5. As a junior, the only colleges I seemed to know of were University of California Los Angeles and New York University, which are both competitive schools with a very low acceptance rate. This is not the case for all schools, trust me. If you asked me junior year if I thought I could get into any colleges, I probably would’ve said no due to the C I got in algebra freshman year. I could not have been more wrong and I wish someone would’ve told me.
To all high school students,
Do not belittle your peers. Everyone learns and grows in a different way. Harvard is not for everyone just as Arizona State University is not. No matter what you do after graduation, whether it is getting a job, going to community college or going to a university, things will work out in your favor. Good things take time and it takes a while to figure that out.
As Bob Marley once told us all, "every little thing is going to be all right."
