Change is one of the most difficult things that happen in life. I graduated with my Associates in Arts from Phoenix College in May after six years of community college. I was an honors student and classes were not easy, but not hard either. I had six years of comfort, friends, and a normal routine. I felt like I was serving a purpose when I was in community college. When I got into the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism at Arizona State University, everything changed.
For the first time in my college career, I was taking upper-level classes in the span of seven weeks. I was expecting that the workload was going to be hard and I was going to have to study harder than ever. What I didn’t expect was how the fast pace of the classes took a toll on me as a student and as an individual. For the first time, my personal life dramatically affected my school life. As a full-time student, school is essentially my job. I didn’t handle anything well. I missed the passing mark for my Grammar 101 class by .6% and I had passed all of my classes up until that point in my academic career. I was devastated that I would have to take this class again and it would determine if I stayed in my dream school or not. However, this was my wake-up call and I took it as a sign.
After learning my lesson in the first seven weeks of my fall semester, I was able to better allocate my time between my course work and my personal life. I am proud to say that I have a passing grade going into my final this time. Even if I tank my final (which I have the utmost confidence that I will pass), I will still pass the class!
Along the way, something that I have kept in mind is that your final does not determine your worth as a person. Your grades do not reflect who you are deep down. At the end of the day, they are just letters on a piece of paper. With that in mind, I will approach finals week with a positive mentality and then enjoy my semester break with my family and you should too!