Let me say it a little louder:
You are worth more than your grades.
In this day and age, we are so focused on building our individual capital that we forget about building our individual lives.
In high school, we pay hundreds of dollars to take the ACT--three, four, even five times--to bump up our scores in order to get into the college of our dreams. We join club after club with the hope that it will bolster our resumes, that a college will see that we did two more activities than that other applicant, so surely they will have to let us in. We take AP classes in order to boost our GPA; because, even if it's not something we're interested in or something we enjoy, that shot at a 4.2 grade point sure was worth it. We volunteer, sometimes not because it is fulfilling to us to serve others or because it feels good, but because it'll sure look great under a "service" heading on our cover letter. We work ourselves like pack mules, competing against ourselves and often compromising our sleep, our mental and physical health, in order to get to that perfectly rounded cover letter.
I like to call this the "game" of high school.
We become unknowingly prideful, spending so much time trying to cheat the system, boost our numbers, make ourselves look better on a sheet of paper, that we lose sight of what's important. We lose sight of the life right in front of us, the life we're living day by day, looking down at screens or paper resumes rather than doing what makes us truly happy, what inspires us, what drives us. It is in focusing so much on these numbers that we lose sight of our true worth. The worth we have in our Father's eyes. The worth we have just by showing up and trying our best for Jesus' glory, rather than the glory of boasting about it on our resumes. To deny the "do what you love" mentality and adopt the "do what makes yourself look better on paper" mentality is cheating yourself of exploration, of curiosity, of embracing the way God made you to be.
I'm not saying grades aren't important. There is a place for GPA, for ACT scores, and for resume-builders. There is worth in working hard, in doing well, in seeing the fruit of all those hours spent in diligence.
But you are greater than the number at the bottom of your academic transcript.
You are more than the Biology class you got a C in during high school.
You are more than the F on the test last week, the one that made you stare at the ceiling in darkness and question if you're on the right path at 2am on a Wednesday.
You are worthy of what Jesus has in store for your life.
You are loved unconditionally by the One who cares enough to know not just your failures and worries, but your joys, your hopes, and even the number of hairs on your head.
And I promise (as does He) that focusing on THAT life, the one HE wants for you, rather than one focused solely on numbers and pridefulness over a boosted resume, will bring you overflowing and abundant joy, along with peace, fulfillment, and abounding hope.
Can a 4.0 do that?