Some things are difficult to say aloud. It’s hard to reveal your weaknesses, your failures, your darkest secrets, or your deepest desires. At the same time, it can be liberating to say these things because the truth can set you free. For me, my truth is this: I failed a class. I failed a class.
The very mention of those four words strikes fear into the hearts of high-achieving students like myself. Up to the beginning of my junior year, I’d made 59 A’s in my academic career. A single B was the solitary blemish on the sea of report cards that got hung on Mom and Dad’s refrigerator. When I moved out to the state’s most-rigorous boarding school at the beginning of 11th grade, I don’t think any of us expected that to change.
Over Winter Break …show more content…
I met with my professor, and they were confused as to why I hadn’t asked for help before and didn’t know how to help me pass. Only at that point did I realize how badly I’d screwed myself over. I failed the class.
This brought my GPA down spectacularly. I knew what that meant; I was facing dismissal from my school. As a gifted student, people have always had high hopes for me. But at that moment, I lived up to none of them. The shame I felt and continue to feel has changed me as a person. I’m no longer embarrassed to ask for help. In fact, asking for help is more admirable than anything. It takes a lot to admit your mistakes, but it takes far more to try and fix them.
An update? I’m back in another collegiate Calculus course, and this time I have an A. This semester, I’ve been working in study groups and attending office hours, a stark contrast from last semester. Although grades do matter to an extent, I’ve also learned that there’s no shame in not being as adept at a subject as some of my peers. Everyone has different strengths; some people have to work harder than others. However, there is shame in allowing that to hold you back. I will no longer let that hold me back because the truth has set me
The very mention of those four words strikes fear into the hearts of high-achieving students like myself. Up to the beginning of my junior year, I’d made 59 A’s in my academic career. A single B was the solitary blemish on the sea of report cards that got hung on Mom and Dad’s refrigerator. When I moved out to the state’s most-rigorous boarding school at the beginning of 11th grade, I don’t think any of us expected that to change.
Over Winter Break …show more content…
I met with my professor, and they were confused as to why I hadn’t asked for help before and didn’t know how to help me pass. Only at that point did I realize how badly I’d screwed myself over. I failed the class.
This brought my GPA down spectacularly. I knew what that meant; I was facing dismissal from my school. As a gifted student, people have always had high hopes for me. But at that moment, I lived up to none of them. The shame I felt and continue to feel has changed me as a person. I’m no longer embarrassed to ask for help. In fact, asking for help is more admirable than anything. It takes a lot to admit your mistakes, but it takes far more to try and fix them.
An update? I’m back in another collegiate Calculus course, and this time I have an A. This semester, I’ve been working in study groups and attending office hours, a stark contrast from last semester. Although grades do matter to an extent, I’ve also learned that there’s no shame in not being as adept at a subject as some of my peers. Everyone has different strengths; some people have to work harder than others. However, there is shame in allowing that to hold you back. I will no longer let that hold me back because the truth has set me