Life has an interesting way of pulling its strings. Sometimes, we put in maximum effort to make things work. We toil day and night, pull all-nighters, sweat profusely, and put in our best, only for things to go wrong at the last minute. At that point, it feels like the whole world is against you. You ask yourself these questions: why did things go wrong? Didn't I put in enough effort? And that's the funny thing - you can put in maximum effort and still not get what you're pursuing, while someone who didn't even put in as much effort as you did ends up getting it. On the other hand, other times, when we work hard for something, the result is exactly what we hoped for and worth all the effort we put into it. The joy that flows through my veins when I put effort into something and it turns out exactly how I wanted - even better - is beautiful. When this happens, I tell myself, "Yes, this wasn't a coincidence; it didn't just happen. You made this work. You, and no other person, could have pulled this off."
A student’s life is filled with so many experiences. Sometimes, you read day and night in preparation for an exam. You answer the question beautifully, and at the end, you come out with a beautiful smile, thinking you have smashed the questions, only for the results to come out and you realize that you didn't do well despite the efforts. Other times, you get the best results from things you didn't even prepare so well for. I've had many experiences of when I put effort into something and the result was worth the effort I put in. In this post, I'll share the one that happened last year, my third year at the university.
Before we started the semester, our seniors shared their experiences with us. They told us not to expect much at this level. In their words, “You cannot boost your CGPA in 300 level, all you can do is maintain it, and if you're not careful, it will drop.” They told us not to expect As in any of our courses because, during their time, the best students had just one A. Their words were discouraging. They pierced through our hearts and made many of us give up before the semester even started. I remember asking myself this question, “Is it possible to get As when the best student in their class had just one A. I mean, the best student is far more brilliant than I am.” For a moment, I concluded that it was impossible to get As in 300 level.
I'd always been thinking about how to boost my CGPA. I'd even laid down strategies on how to go about it, only for my seniors to shatter, not only my strategies, by all hope within me, with their discouraging words. I remember sharing my worries with my friend at that time and she said, “Don’t worry about it, our own will be different. Just because many of them failed doesn't mean we would fail. We are different.” Her words sparked something in me. It brought out a burning hope and faith that I thought had died. So, I started working towards my goal. I made sure I read all the novels, leaving no book unturned. Some of my friends on Hive encouraged me as I took this journey. To focus on my studies, I went offline for more than 2 weeks. The most challenging part was falling sick.
I had stressed myself so much that I fell sick twice. Luckily, I felt better a few days before the exam. But after my last paper, I broke down again. It was as if I had postponed the sickness until after my exams. When the results came out, I almost couldn't believe my eyes. Our seniors had said it was impossible to boost your CGPA in 300 level, but not only did I boost it, I skyrocketed it. Out of my 7 courses, I got 6 As and one B. I was so excited because the results turned out exactly the way I wanted. All my sleepless nights, back-to-back reading, and group discussions were worth it.
Images in this post are mine.
Thanks for reading.
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