1. Denial:
The realization that another semester is drawing to a close, has not entirely set in. At this stage, we still think we have time to pull our grades up even though we may have failed the midterm and that one group project did NOT go as planned. We convince ourselves everything is fine, that the final isn't for a couple more weeks, for the reality would send us into down spiraling madness.
2. Anger:
At this stage we are experiencing pure, and unadulterated rage. We can't help but thinking, "why do bad grades happen to good people?" We begin to take out our passive aggressiveness on our roommates by leaving angry notes about the dirty dishes in the sink – that have been there for ten minutes, which might as well be ten years. We begin to think that it's the professors that are out to get us, when really we have no one to blame but ourselves.
3. Bargaining:
Once we've understood that the professors have the capability to save our grades, we begin to kiss up. We seek to make compromises in hopes that our professors will take mercy on us and change that C on our midterm paper to a B. The professor we couldn't even make eye contact with for the first 2 months of school is now our best friend. We may even stand a chance if we bring them baked goods. Keep in mind, however, that graveling did not work with the Financial Aid office, so why would it work here?
4. Depression:
All hope is lost. There is no turning back now. We begin to regret all those nights we decided to stay up and watch Scream Queens instead of going through our flash cards for our psychology test the next day. We make irrational assumptions about the past, thinking that if we would've not taken those 30 extra seconds to use the bathroom we might have gotten one point higher on our biology pop quiz. At this point, it feels as though the whole world is crashing around us. We become reclusive and do nothing but sit in our beds sobbing, eating ice cream, and contemplating dropping out of college and becoming a stripper – even though we got a B as opposed to an A.
5. Acceptance:
We have accepted the fact that the only way we would get from an 88% to an 89% is if we get a 105% on our final, and we have become okay with that. The irrationality of dropping out of school completely isn't looking as bright as it did a week ago. We can rest easy knowing we did all we could, and what to improve upon for the next semester. We enter the last few weeks of the semester with pride, trying to keep our heads above water. But even in the bleakest times, just remember: Thanksgiving is just around the corner, the greatest excuse to smother your school problems with gravy and stuffing.
