A Reflection of Week 1 cont'd

2. Which reminds me of, at least to me, what I would consider the best learning experience in my life. Back in my elementary and junior high school days, I strived for one-thing-and-one-thing-only: an "A" on my report card. It didn't matter how I got it or what I had to do, that A was mine. You remember those annoying kids always asking for extra credit and begging the teacher to raise their grade by .01%? Those who were the biggest brown nosers you could find, and also the most persistent whiners? Those students that just grinded your teeth and make you wish they had never been born? I was one of those. Actually, I take that back. I was the epitome of those. I did extra credit that you didn't know was extra credit. I volunteered on every question. I was always the "super polite and faking it" student who knew how to get teachers on his good side. To put it simply and crudely, I was the biggest pain-in-the-ass you could find. But I was also one of the most successful. Kids knew it. That's why I was always one of the first picked when it came to any academic competition. I was much like Kobe. I may not have been liked but I was respected. Now, that all changed freshman year (my attitude mind you, I'm pretty sure that most students still find me to be a royal pain-in-the-ass, but that's for a different time) in my Honors Biology class, period 5. It was around the beginning of autumn, and we had a quiz that day. I was fretting around, nervous as can be, believing that the quiz was to be a harbinger of things to come. (Remember, I was going to do anything for that "A", and anything less was bound to be punished through sweat and tears.) I was shaking as if the room had become Antarctica. My heart was the beat of a thousand drums, all pulsing through my skull. Mrs. Wingerden, our teacher, noticed my obvious state of anxiety and said something to comfort me, something I'm sure she thought would subside my nervousness, if only for that moment. I highly doubt she could understand just how much that statement has met to me. "Don't worry, it's just one quiz. I'm sure ten years from now you will have forgotten all about it. In the vast realm of things, it doesn't matter." Those were the words. Those words that have forever changed my realm of thinking. Those words that made me re-evaluate myself, and make me wonder "What am I? Is this who I want to be?" Essentially, my MIND=BLOWN moment. As you can understand, I was lost. My whole identity, gone just like that. I didn't know what to do, so I did what any self-respecting freshman does. I went to my dad. I talked to him, wanted to know more about him. As I found out, unlike me, he was not a straight A student. He got his fair share of A's, yes, but he also got his fair share of B's. Me, being the ignorant freshman I was, asked how he felt getting a "B". As he told me, "You probably wouldn't understand, but there are times in life when no matter how much work you put in, no matter how much you try, a B is all you can get and you are proud of that B. Some of my B's are the proudest I've ever learned. And as you'll learn in college, getting an A isn't like high school. You will be graded harshly beyond belief, and I will honestly be surprised if you manage to maintain a 4.0 average all throughout college." And as both my parents have told me, "If we see that you're trying as hard as you can, and you get a "B" we're still very proud of you. After all, you tried your hardest. What more can we ask for?" Those three moments, up until now, have been my defining moments. Granted, I still haven't got my first "B" on my transcripts, but don't think that hasn't changed me. I still want that "A" much like anyone else, but that doesn't mean I'll cry if I get a "B", nor will I attempt to bring myself to such low levels as I used to. Life is too important to be crying over such semantics and which is more important: The amount of knowledge you have retained, or the grade you obtained? 

P.S. I don't think my parents can understand just how much I appreciate being their son and the amount of values they have instilled in me. And so, here I hope they read this post and understand my gratitude.