Forty-nine percent. How could this happen? I worked so hard and this is what I receive?

couldn’t believe it. Going into this class I knew it was going to be extremely difficult, with the

difficult concepts and the reputation. It wasn’t going to be a breeze like before. I was in shock. I

didn’t know what to think, feel, or how to react. I started to panic, what was I going to do? My

parents are going to be furious with me. They are going to be disappointed like never before. I

had always been an A and B students, my siblings passed this class I have to be able to do it.

There was only one thing that I knew: this could never ever happen again. Suddenly, one tear

followed by another; I began to sob. I’ve never been so disappointed and shocked before in

myself in my life. I kept on refreshing the grade book hoping it would change like it was some

mistake, but it never did.

I have to make a plan. I grabbed my chemistry textbook and started furiously reading the

next chapter we were going to tackle. I took notes, I took in every little detail, and I found videos

online that helped explain these difficult topics. I couldn’t just give up on this class. I want to

pursue a medical career in my future, I had to persevere through it. Telling my parents was the

absolute worst part of this whole experiences, I felt like I had disappointed them greatly and that

I was not going to live up to their expectations. I thought they were gonna ground me forever and

never let me see the light of day ever again. It turned out to be quite the opposite. They were

supportive and helped me in every way they could. They were there for me in ways that I never

could have predicted, they threw prioritized my learning and my doing the best I could over

everything else. They didn’t put that pressure on me anymore that I had to have an A. Granted

they still wanted me to achieve the highest grade possible, but, they wanted me to do the best I

could which wasn’t the best grade in the world.

 I learned a lot by taking this class. Even with finishing with a grade that has not been my

finest work, I still did my best and got through it. Doing your best is what is most important in

life, we all falter and lose our stepping and sometimes that is necessary. I grew as a person after

taking this class, I learned so much about how to manage a crazy study schedule and how to be

proud of your work even when it doesn’t win you an A+. I learned a lot of study skills and what

it really means to persevere through something. I’ve never had a more challenging obstacle in

my life, and it also was the most worthwhile. It showed me through hard work you can still learn

a lot even without getting an A or B.