I wasn’t someone who was incredibly studious in high school. I did what I needed to in order to keep grades average, and to make sure I passed with honors. I always wished I had put in the efforts in high school, maybe to even get Principal’s List one quarter or semester, as well as getting as close to a 4.0 as possible.
I took honors and AP classes, which ultimately ended up bringing my grades down. They gave me the experiences I needed in order to succeed in college, but I still didn’t try my hardest to keep up good grades.
I knew when I came to college I wanted to change that mindset. I spent a majority of my free time studying and doing assignments, I tried to do things in a timely manner, and I put my best effort into readings, projects, and even simple homework assignments.
This paid off for my first semester, even remembering being in multiple professors’ office hours slightly upset that I didn’t get an A, and them going, “You know people failed this class right?” I ended with a 3.81, and I thought it truly showed what I was capable of. I put in my best effort and was rewarded with the grades I had always wanted.
This took a turn in my second semester. I went from taking almost all history classes to multiple subjects areas after I changed my major to Liberal Studies. I struggled with science, and I learned that something like developmental psychology was not my thing.
This became far worse when we were sent home for the semester. I started organized, but as my mental health tanked, my grades tanked. I didn’t feel like putting in the effort because I was missing the rest of my college experience I had waited so long for. I was missing my people I would study with, having people other than my parents around me all the time, and it gave me no motivation.
Scholarship means much more than academics. It means the people pushing you to your best scholarly achievements, which is precisely what Honors is to me. It’s people in your classes, your professors, advisors, other Honors faculty that want to see the best results from you and your classmates. It’s allowing yourself to study for your goals and dreams while having that community to be there for you and push you to do your best work.