A moment of silence please, for my GPA.
I knew when I entered college that things would be difficult, that there wouldn’t be a safety net to catch me if I slipped up here or there. That there wasn’t a “+1 AP bonus” or “+.5 Honours course bonus”, hell, everything is an AP course times two here. The fact that there are only 5 grades in the entire course doesn’t help either. Well, maybe I just need to keep reminding myself about that. I finally got out of my last class for the day and I’m back in my dorm listening to Christmas music on the radio cooling off after a long first day back.
Finals are coming up very soon, only a little more than two weeks separate me from what is essentially my last chance to swing my grade one way or the other, and hopefully in the positive direction. I will admit that I think I slacked off a little more than I should have this semester. The lack of receiving multiple assignments to keep me on my toes and my mind ready to go has made me less motivated.
Currently I stand to earn around a 3.55-3.7 GPA for this first semester if things keep on track as they are which isn’t bad but not up to my personal standards either. I’m used to being at the top of my class; I graduated in the Top 10 of my class of 600+ but now I’m competing with people who are at that level or even higher, it’s a whole new playing field. I stand a comfortable chance of pulling off an A in Calc, and if I do my essay re-write and an extra credit essay I can get an A- in humanities. I need to do well on my final in psychology but I’ll be happy with a B+ in that class. My theology class is a crapshoot to call right now, I still have a paper and a final, but if I do well on both I can get an A- or with a heavy dose of luck a low A. My international business class is the biggest unknown right now, there are only four grades, none of which I have any idea on, in reality, I think I can expect something between a B or an A, bleh, not a fan.
While I don’t want to lower my standards for myself, I feel I need to learn to be more satisfied with not getting straight-As or the like anymore. What matters is that I try my hardest and whatever I get is what I deserve. Bleh, why do numbers have to mean so much, in ten or twenty years none of them will even matter anymore. Ha!
God, did I really just do an entire post about grades? Fuck, I really am Asian.
I had three friends personally contact me about my last post saying they'd be open to talking with me if I ever needed to, I was so touched I teared up.
I realized yesterday I never did a Music Wednesday last week so here’s a belated one.
Sia – Breathe Me
I first heard this on a German Soap called Verbotene Liebe, it’s a hauntingly beautiful song.
All the best,
JP
Happy Thanksgiving!
3 weeks ago
A comfortable 'A' in calculus? Yup, you're Asian all right lol. I think that this being your first year in university that there are too many distractions and new situations that interfere with the academics. Simply set the priorities and stick to it and that means managing your time to bring up the grades to your standards. Put the partying and social life on the back-burner until Christmas break. I remember taking a course with other members of our crew and we were talking about high school grades. One guy said he averaged 92 and another said his average was 84. Another guy piped up and said his average was 70, and he is making the same wages as the rest of us lol. bfn - Wayne :)
ReplyDeleteGuess people have different views on their grades. I would be happy with 3.5-3.7
ReplyDeleteAnd yes you are Asian if you think an B+ up to A is like bleah.
Oh well still a good person and I still like reading your blogs even if I haven't been doing well on the comment parts.
Take Care
Ethan
P.S.
ReplyDeleteWayne you should stop by my blog sometime
I did enjoy our conversations in the past
My first semester of college was hell, went through so much shit that reflected upon my grades (2.9 GPA)? Hah. I guess I don't live up to the Asian standard (I guess some would label me as Pacific Islander?)
ReplyDeleteDefinitely something I'm not proud of, but I didn't really try either; I was too distracted by men, alcohol, weed, and volatile friendships. (I dated a legitimately diagnosed sociopath... That's a story for another time I guess. Hah!)
I'm Asian.
ReplyDeleteAnd I'm perfectly fine with even a 3.0 GPA (although right now its 3.7 and rising)
Don't worry, EVERYONE does bad in their freshmen year. and maybe the rest, but it seriously doesn't matter that much. So many more important things in life...
You're right to say that what matters is giving it your best effort. And even more important is the realization that twenty years from now it won't matter. If you are planning to go on to some form of post-graduate education, you'll need to do well enough to get into the sort of school you want to attend, but, again what will be most important is getting the Master's or Doctorate degree you want, not what university you get it from. Maybe a degree from a top school will make a difference in where you get your first job. But after that, it's all a matter of how you perform.
ReplyDeleteI was going to say something about being Asian and grades.
ReplyDeleteYes, you are Asian. Everyone before me has noted it also, so it must be pretty obvious.
ReplyDeleteASIAN ASIAN ASIAN ASIAN ASIAN. That is all this post said to me. Do something fun will ya?
Oh and we are getting pho next week. Not a request.
<3