As the school year comes to a close and final grades begin to roll in, I think it is important to note how proud I am of you that you made it through another semester! I hope this congratulatory letter reminds you of how awesome of a student you are, even if your grades are not what you expect. None of your parents or professors took a college course load in a middle of uncertain times, therefore, their opinion about your grades is irrelevant.
In the last few weeks, I have seen so many twitter posts about, “second semester has won” or “it’s in God’s hands now.” My biggest advice would be to take twitter as a grain of salt because these will be the same people who are posting about their 4.0s when the grades are finally in. As a generation, we take the successes of others way too seriously and tend to dim a light on our accomplishments. Social media only reveals what people want you to see. There are little to no people posting every time they get a failing grade or have a mental breakdown. People want you to see the best side of themselves on social media, therefore, when someone posts their grades, I recommend that you never compare their situation to yours.
Since the United States has rolled out vaccine plans, most Americans believe that the pandemic is over; this is not true. There are still many people dying from covid-19 every day, therefore, we are still in uncertain times. These uncertain times may allow us as students to produce below average work because our mental health is not at its best. After months of being isolated from our friends, family and schoolmates, covid-19 has left people feeling a bit alone in this world and it may reflect in their work. It is important to note that no one has ever been in the situation you have been in; no matter how much a person can say they can imagine being in your shoes, they have never been in your exact situation.
One thing that has kept me hopeful for this entire semester is that I will never be in this exact situation again. Personally, this has been a very long semester, but I know at the end of the semester, there will be a long rest from school and grades. The grades received do not not define who you are as a person or even your intellectual value. Therefore, do not let them put a damper on your self-esteem. What matters is that you know that you did your absolute best throughout all of this craziness in the world.
So as this semester comes to an end and summer begins, I just want to say how proud I am of you for the work you produce. I really do not care about what grades you received because I know you worked your hardest in all your efforts, despite the challenging world around you. So congratulations on surviving another semester in a pandemic!