My Happiness Skyrocketed When I Lost My 4.0 GPA
Because letter grades should never define your worth
“Stay in school and study hard so that you don’t end up like me.”
My mom got pregnant with me at 16 and would repeat this phrase often when I was younger. Along with some other bangers such as “Don’t grow up and get with any broke, good-for-nothing guys” and “friends will carry you but never bring you back.” Even at a tender age, I understood these directives for what they were: projection and a deep-seated fear that the trail of bad decisions that led to me and later, to my younger sister, would enact an unbreakable cycle of teenage pregnancies and perpetual suffering.
She didn’t need to waste her breath. I had eyes, and I could see what anyone who comes from a low-income household does: unless you’re naturally blessed with raw talent or godlike athleticism, education is the only way out.
A Childhood of Being the “Smart One”
Growing up, I was always the “smart kid.” I received good grades, won awards for academic excellence, and was the point person from whom everyone ferociously copied the homework before the first period — because I was the nerd who actually did the homework.
