You were a straight A student all through high school, or at least you never had to actually worry about your grades. You've never been challenged truly, until you came to college. Some of the material in your first year general education classes are familiar and you feel a sense of security. The professor gives you a sheet of homework that is not mandatory or due at any point, so you kinda push it to the side to focus on other things that are graded. You thought you had developed good study habits and transitioned into "college studying". Then you get your first quiz...

You thought you were prepared until you saw the first question and saw that it either wasn't what you studied or was divided into several parts. It might have given you anxiety or caused a mini panic attack. It just showed you how much you're actually going to have to put into the class.

Midterm grades came out and they had you breathing a little heavy. They made you rethink things and got you actually thinking. You felt good, but it's not where you want it.

You're in panic mode. You've never had to deal with a bad grade before. You don't know how to deal with it. You keep working on the one class, which might make you struggle or not put as much effort into the others.

It's the day where final grades come out. You have an idea of what you've made, but you still have that little glimmer of hope in your heart. You sit and think about how much effort you've put into this class, and college in general, that you hope they'll pass you (A for effort).

It's 10am and your worst fear has come true. You cry, but then you fall into the acceptance stage. You suddenly become a math genius and calculate what GPA you have to make next semester in order to keep all your scholarships. The first person you should call is your advisor. They can teach you about this wonderful thing called "grade replacement".

You are also home for the holidays and your whole family is going to want to know how school went. You don't want to tell them that their shining little star was a little dim this semester. All the memes about not talking about school at the table become too real for you and you fully understand them. Of course you're going to have to tell them at some point. Your family truly does care and will always be there to support you. Sooner is always better than later. You deserve to enjoy the holidays without anything weighing heavy on yourself.

You messed up. And I'm sure everything you thought was okay in your life, but somehwere along the line, it switched and turned upside down on you during the first semester. College is hard. No one said it was easy, and if they did, I'm sorry because they lied. You can't let this class get you down though. You can't place all the blame on yourself either because it will weigh you down. The first semester of college is so free because you are in charge of yourself. Maybe some reevaluation of your social life is required. Maybe you need to hit the books more. Maybe you need a tutor. Most universities offer help services free of charge. Take advantage of those.

Prove everyone wrong. Show them that you aren't just one failing grade. It might just take you longer to get through it, but you will look stronger to everyone for pushing on and getting through it all.