Growing up, I was always a B or C student (with the exception of grade 7 when I made the honour roll with straight A's, and and my 2nd year in University when I made the Dean's Honour List), so needless to say, I guess, I just got used to it. Getting an A on an assignment or a test came few and far between for me. I never really believed in myself, never believed I was smart enough to be an 'A-student'.
Then came college - FAIL.
Then came University. It took some getting used to, getting back in the game - I was 26 going on 27 when I started at the U of M. My choices consisted of 2 Nutrition classes (which still stick with me to this day, so glad I took them), and Statistics. Oh my god, statistics. What a NIGHTMARE! Poor Alex, is all I have to really say on that subject.
Poor Alex, and Thanks Alex ... if it weren't for you, I definitely would've failed!
After working my butt off for 2.5 years, striving to achieve and maintain a GPA over 3.5 so I would get accepted into the very competitive Environmental Design program, all of my hard work paid off.
Or so I thought.
2009-2010 was, by far, the most academically challenging year of school I have EVER faced. Never had I cried so many times, never had I wanted to quit so many times, never had I pulled so many all nighters, and never had I stressed myself out to that point before. All in the name of maintaining that 3.5 GPA so I would be accepted into the third year of the ED program, and into Interior Design - my ultimate goal (the thing about this is that I didn't realize I would have to apply to get into 3rd year after already applying to get into 2nd year ED). This time I can say all of my hard work has FINALLY paid off! Now, I can relax a little and enjoy myself and enjoy everything I am learning. I am currently maintaining a GPA of 3.43 and I am perfectly happy with that number.
I am going to give it my best. I am going to work hard and do my best, and if I get B's again, I am ok with that. I understand that at this point in my academic career, grades are mostly subjective, especially in the creative design world. If I get a B, as long as I did the work to my best abilities, then I understood the assignment. I understood what the results meant and how they are to be applied to my field. Just because someone else got an 'A' doesn't necessarily mean they understood the information better, it could mean the grader liked their layout and/or theme of the particular paper/presentation better, or whatever.
In the end it comes down to understanding. Do you or don't you? I could take a final exam and cram all the information into my head the night before and forget it all the second I leave the test (and still manage to score a 98%) but I am no better prepared for "the real world" than I was before I even took the class...
Then came college - FAIL.
Then came University. It took some getting used to, getting back in the game - I was 26 going on 27 when I started at the U of M. My choices consisted of 2 Nutrition classes (which still stick with me to this day, so glad I took them), and Statistics. Oh my god, statistics. What a NIGHTMARE! Poor Alex, is all I have to really say on that subject.
Poor Alex, and Thanks Alex ... if it weren't for you, I definitely would've failed!
After working my butt off for 2.5 years, striving to achieve and maintain a GPA over 3.5 so I would get accepted into the very competitive Environmental Design program, all of my hard work paid off.
Or so I thought.
2009-2010 was, by far, the most academically challenging year of school I have EVER faced. Never had I cried so many times, never had I wanted to quit so many times, never had I pulled so many all nighters, and never had I stressed myself out to that point before. All in the name of maintaining that 3.5 GPA so I would be accepted into the third year of the ED program, and into Interior Design - my ultimate goal (the thing about this is that I didn't realize I would have to apply to get into 3rd year after already applying to get into 2nd year ED). This time I can say all of my hard work has FINALLY paid off! Now, I can relax a little and enjoy myself and enjoy everything I am learning. I am currently maintaining a GPA of 3.43 and I am perfectly happy with that number.
I am going to give it my best. I am going to work hard and do my best, and if I get B's again, I am ok with that. I understand that at this point in my academic career, grades are mostly subjective, especially in the creative design world. If I get a B, as long as I did the work to my best abilities, then I understood the assignment. I understood what the results meant and how they are to be applied to my field. Just because someone else got an 'A' doesn't necessarily mean they understood the information better, it could mean the grader liked their layout and/or theme of the particular paper/presentation better, or whatever.
In the end it comes down to understanding. Do you or don't you? I could take a final exam and cram all the information into my head the night before and forget it all the second I leave the test (and still manage to score a 98%) but I am no better prepared for "the real world" than I was before I even took the class...
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