Every student has their goals set for themselves at the onset of a semester, but as the months progress, we can often lose sight of what we set out to do, and ultimately wonder if we really succeeded this semester at all.
Now, grades are an obvious indicator of success in school, but really, is that all there is to govern success? I don’t believe so. What about the work you have completed, the knowledge you have gained, those eureka moments you have experienced in the middle of your classroom? There are things outside of a grade sheet that justify a successful semester.
In the case of goals, it is inevitable that some of our will deteriorates over time, and that our priorities are forced to change, but I have never been fond of the idea of just trying to get through the semester. More often than not, students sacrifice their own health and time to trudge through the remaining few weeks of a school term, but in the end they are left fumbling over themselves and scrambling to meet those goals they set out to achieve.
Now procrastination is not a quality to be especially proud of, but I believe adaptation and understanding is something that can accompany these final tempestuous weeks of the semester. If you are in a bind, make proper decisions with time, and if you are struggling through something in the middle of the night, realize that pushing further will only cause another problem the next day. A semester is something that should be grasped by the horns, not a period of time that flies by without recognition.
And what about all of the work that you have created in the previous weeks of the semester? Some people look at essays and the like as requirements, but are you truly satisfied with the work you have created? If you aren’t sure, think about it. Step back and look at all that you’ve finished; is it something that you feel is worth putting your name on? Just the creation of one good essay is something to view as a success, but that won’t show up on your transcript at the end of the semester.
What about the crazy idea of learning something at one point or another? Of course, some information will fall from our brains because it was never really that important to us, but if there was something that stuck, something that you understood at the result of your efforts, then that’s also a success that won’t show up in print. In fact, you could entirely fall short of your goals for your grades, but if knowledge is something that comes at the result of it, well, then maybe grades aren’t the most important part of school.
Maybe my goals have just diminished, so I’m trying to justify my own shortcomings of the semester, or maybe there’s something to be said about finding value in the right things. Maybe there is more to a semester to govern success, but in the end, that’s not for me to say. However, the next time you see your transcript, try to remember if those classes that you see with lettered grades next to them really affected you in a profound way, or if they helped you with the acquisition of knowledge, and then look back to the grades again—is that all that your success really is?