Yes, grades are important. I understand that and grades come first for me always, but there comes a point when you have to stop focusing so much on your GPA and more on what experience you can get in the real world.

With finals week coming to an end and grades are flowing in, I have seen constant posts about people's grades and friends asking each other what they got on an exam, or what their final grades were.

If I'm being honest, I am not an A+ student, I never have been. I got straight A's once in my life and it was the semester my grandma died, so to this day I am still not sure how I pulled that off.

I've always cared about my grades, I wanted to do my best and try my hardest, and turns out my best and hardest averages on B's. But I don't see a problem with that. The letter grade B is technically above average. C is average, which means 50% of people did worse than you and 50% of people did better than you. I'm not sure when it became embarrassing to have a B, but I'm sure as heck not embarrassed to say I'm a B student. And that doesn't mean I didn't try as hard as the A+ students – everyone is different and learns differently. I'm not a good test taker, so that is where my grades fall short sometimes. But ask me to present or give a speech, I'm ready to go.

I think everyone should be proud of whatever grade they get, as long as they tried their hardest. Everyone succeeds in different things. My friends are good test takers and study harder on exams than I do, I'm better at presenting so I work harder on presentations than my friends do. It all depends on where our skillsets lie, but it doesn't matter what your grade is at the end of the day.

Personally, I love having professional experience. Employers will look at that more than they will your GPA. I've had 3 internships this year and not one of them asked about my GPA, however more so what experience I have that will help out their company. Some time nearing the end of your college career, you need to put your focus on getting internships and making connections because those people could be the ones that offer you a job after you graduate.

Nevertheless, I am not ignoring the fact that grades are important, because they really are, but experience to build your skillset will go a long way rather than a 4.0 and only being in student government.

Don't be embarrassed or feel pressure to get A's, as long as you are trying your hardest and working towards your future, that is all that matters.