Like most good college students, I want good grades. A wise man once said, “pain is temporary, GPA is forever”.

This semester, I’m struggling. My grades aren’t bad but they aren’t where they’ve been in the past. I’m taking on more challenging classes, more hours, and more nonacademic responsibilities (Is this what being an adult feels like?). I’m used to being a 4.0 student, and this semester, I will no longer have this beautiful, perfect GPA unless some miracle happens(thanks, MPA). I am not meeting my own high expectations.

I spent the first half of this semester living in fear of these grades and numbers ruining my life (My internal thoughts: Oh no! No one will ever hire me because I didn’t make all A’s.  What if I ACTUALLY “fail” and get kicked out of iMPA? Then no one will hire me. I’ll have to live in my parents’ basement ).

All of this fear mongering, courtesy of my own brain, made me  forget why I was taking these classes in the first place. To learn.

My dad is a professor, and he’s always harped that the reason why we get an education is to… well, be educated. The reason I’m taking all these classes isn’t so I accumulate a number that defines who I am. The reason I’m taking these classes is so that I learn valuable skills that I can apply in the future. I need to remember that I actually enjoy this stuff.

Ever since this epiphany, I have been trying to ignore the grade and focus more on learning and retaining the knowledge I’m receiving. I’m going to need it. So far, it has made my experience much more enjoyable and much less stressful. Hopefully, the good grades will just follow. If not, that’s okay. I will die happy knowing that I learned the necessary skills I need to succeed in the future.

A wise woman (me) once said, “GPA is temporary, learning is forever”.