GPA: Greatest Personal Advantage
What I learned from my worst semester in school.
“It’s not the grades you make but the hands you shake.”
I've always loved this cliche because while it is relatively true, it’s a worn-out justification for any extroverted college student that really has no direction in life or drive to get better.
Yes, networking helps and many times it lands someone a job or opportunity that he or she may otherwise not receive but to assume that “shaking hands” is all you need to succeed is not only a stupid approach but it’s incredibly egocentric.
I wanted to lead with that because this is not what I am talking about here. But it’s not about the grades you make. I am not saying that grades aren’t important or that hardwork isn’t necessary. But what I learned from my worst semester in college has little to do with the results of my courses:
Education is not about Grade Point Average but a different kind of GPA.
Most of my worst semester was spent on my work in marketing rather than my school work. My fault. I own it. It was a struggle with time management, work-life balance and priorities. But I don’t regret it because I learned a lot. It just wasn’t always the material on which I was assessed.
Chemistry class — not my ballpark. I probably won’t ever need to know much detail about hydrogen bonds or cations. And honestly, I don’t remember much of what I learned about either. Same goes for Macroeconomics and ironically, and embarrassingly, Intro to Marketing was the worst. So, my final grades reflected it. I didn’t fail any of them. But it wasn’t good.
Admittedly, this had much to do with my focus and passion, or lack thereof, for these courses and for school in general. But what I took away from those twelve weeks has proven far more useful:
I learned adaptability. I didn’t understand chemistry or economics but I found ways to be a part of the conversation that was often over my head.
I learned responsibility. There was nobody to blame but myself.
I learned self-reflection. My weaknesses were glaring. I had to own them. So, I did. And I learned to supplement weak areas with my strengths finding ways to minimize the impact of my shortcomings.
Lastly, and most importantly, I learned that GPA should stand for Greatest Personal Advantage. Education is about experience, challenge and opportunity to find what you best bring to the table. Maybe that strength is scholastic ability but that may not be the case for everyone; it certainly isn’t for me.
This is not me advising to stop paying attention in class and to stop caring about grades. Please don’t misinterpret my point. But my worst semester in school proved that grade point average is a microcosm of the entire education experience and it is most certainly not a measure of my ability or intellect.
So, embrace struggle. You don’t have to be proud of poor results but be proud and willing to take positivity from them. And start putting more emphasis on your GPA.
A strong handshake never hurts either.
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