Over the Hump

Yesterday I received my grades from my final semester as a Sophomore. I am officially half way through with my undergrad degree and have some how lived to tell the tale. I did well this semester and achieved grades that I had believed was completely unattainable because of my enrollment in a Graphic Design course, which was completely out of my comfort zone and range of skills. After finishing the written final I had gone up to my Graphic Design Professor and asked her what my grade for the course would be assuming I receive a 100% on the final. She beamed, “A 94! Which puts you at an A-!” I did my best not to cringe, but she saw through my fake smile and asked “What’s wrong?” I shared with her that I have no idea what I want to do for a career after I graduate, therefore, my GPA is one of the most important things for me; I wouldn’t want a low GPA holding me back from doing something crazy like Law School. I want my opportunities to stay as broad as possible. Having dropped Education this past semester, I essentially went from a one track path from a degree to a career in teaching to a multi-faceted  English degree that could lead me into a plethora of different careers. My professor looked at me with pity when she asked if the A- would keep me from a 4.0 semester. I told her that would seem to be the case. She ran her finger down the list of grades for the other students in my class and discovered that only one student, a very talented and dedicated artist in my opinion, had a grade better than mine and was the only A in the class. So I was second in the class with an A-. That made me feel a bit better to know I was second to a girl who was just absolutely amazing throughout the course. Plus, I had been bracing myself for a B+ at most, so I began to let the A- sink in and did all the calculations to determine how my GPA would suffer.

About a week later, before grades were posted, my Professor came through my line at Giant. She said “Hello Ms. 4.0”. Before I could even ask what she meant she cut me off, “I bumped your grade up to the A!” I was surprised, thankful, and looked down as I scanned her groceries to hide my huge smile.  She had taken pity on my poor, inartistic soul! I told her thank you before she left and I ran over to my supervisor to tell her the news since she had to hear about all my struggles throughout the course.

Shortly after the good news I began to feel guilty. Did I really deserve the one percentage point she decided to give me? Was it fair that I, someone who can barely draw a stick figure, should get an A when the clear artists of the group receive Bs for not following the technical rules? The class was challenging for me and I had to put in extra time on assignments for the course each week just to possibly achieve a B+. The time I had to spend on this course began affecting the amount of time I needed for my other courses and I then became fearful of two Bs on my transcript rather than one. I know that I put in a lot of work in that class, and if it only amounted to an A- than I would’ve had to come to terms with that. Would it have made me deny my motto that “hard work always pays off”? I’m not sure because clearly that motto still holds true thanks to her decision to give me the .9% I needed for an A. I learned a lot from that class, perhaps I’ll never be a graphic designer, but understanding the basics of Adobe programs such as InDesign may serve me well in my future. And if anything I learned to never avoid a course for fear of a bad grade. Professors don’t give out grades, students must earn them. Although I am beyond pleased that my Professor decided that I deserved the extra point to get the A I would love nothing more than to never be in that position again. I will work harder next time, I will remember the crushing feeling of being only one point away from a perfect semester. I will push myself to give every assignment 110% so I don’t have to look back and regret one poor assignment grade that will ruin my GPA later on.

I have learned a valuable lesson through this kind gesture from my Professor. Work hard and never stop working hard. My old sport coaches used to say at half time “Leave everything out on the field tonight! Don’t walk away from this thinking that you could’ve given more than you did!” I will have that mentality going forward during the rest of my undergrad experience and probably beyond. I went to the Bloomu bookstore the other day to purchase textbooks for my two online summer courses. I found a shelf dedicated to work books designed for practicing things for tests such as the GRE, LSAT, and other post-undergrad standardized tests. I found myself holding one book that provides GRE vocabulary practice and another book full of LSAT logic games. Having come into some side cash due to dog sitting for my neighbors, I splurged and purchased the pricey GRE vocabulary work book.

I don’t know where my undergrad degree may take me, the opportunities are endless; therefore, I will not let a weak work ethic during my time as an undergrad slim my opportunities. I’ll leave this post with a well known, yet cheesy, remark that my Dad repeats constantly to me, “When the going gets tough, the tough gets going”.