A's are Risky Business...

Now that I'm well into my fourth year at UConn, I often look back at how I got where I am now. Each semester I have been challenged but motivated and achieved at a level I am proud of. But, to be frank, if the student I was in high school could see me now, she wouldn't recognize herself.

In high school I sometimes felt like I was in the shadow of my very bright, very hard-working, and well-known sister. She had always done well in school and it was kind of her thing; I found my interest in other places like my art classes and extracurriculars. I never really did that poorly in high school, but I did spend a lot of time just doing enough to get by with a grade that was good enough. I did enough to get into UConn (and so did you!), but I made a lot of excuses for why I was perfectly satisfied with getting OK grades and reassured myself that if I really cared, really tried, or really studied then I would be getting straight A's.

Even though I thought I was smart enough and capable enough there was still something in the way of me really doing what it really takes to get those A's. I don't think there is anyone out there who means it when they say they don't want A's or that they want C's or B's. The reality is that A's feel really good to get and D's really don't. A's feel different than B's and a lot different than C's or D's. So the question arises, why would a student not want A's if they feel so good to get?

Grades can be tricky because it's easy to think they mean more than they do. Grades don't tell you if you're smart enough or if you deserve what you want. They don't tell you what kind of person you are. Grades aren't a value judgment about you, they are an assessment of your work. They tell you how you performed and that's all. But the problem comes if we let those grades mean more than they really do. In my mind, my sister's GPA was a measure of a lot more than the quality of the work she handed in. My B's and sometimes C's said that I was wasn't as good or as smart as she was. And when I got A's, because I got a few, they were flukes, easy classes or my teachers liked me. Because I believed I was a B average student, I didn't bother to really strive for anything else.

We can train ourselves to be happy with less than we are capable of if the risk of reaching our true potential is too great. It's a big risk to aim for A's because it means maxing out your skills, effort, and investment in the task. And when a person expends himself/herself like that, what happens if that person still doesn't get the A? Does that mean he/she wasn't really smart enough, capable enough, or deserving enough? These thoughts are very familiar to me and have a lot to do with why in high school I put off writing papers and studying for tests, why I daydreamed in classes that were challenging, and why my grade in French was never great.

I got very discouraged in high school during my junior year when the National Honor Society Inductions were taking place. I was pretty discouraged as I watched my friends, like my sister a few years before, be inducted, knowing that my grades weren't good enough to be a part of it too. With a bit more perspective now, I can look back and say that what I didn't see was that I could have been doing so much more. I could have taken the time to turn in my best work rather than work that I thought was good enough to meet the teachers expectations. I could have taken a risk and expended myself, but I rarely ever did, and didn't understand that the few times I did, I not only got better grades but I had fully and completely earned them.

Things began to change for me as I saw UConn fast approaching. I was sick of not feeling good enough and wanted to take advantage of a fresh start. My mom, who has always taken a hands off but involved approach to my schoolwork, asked me why I would set myself up for stress, incomplete assignments, and just OK grades. Something clicked for me when I began facing the challenges of being a UConn student. I decided that I wanted it (A's) and for the first time I believed not only that I could do it, but that I deserved it. This was all reinforced for me by a conversation I had with my older sister that really opened my eyes, she told me that she admired me for certain qualities that I have that she believed she didn't. The combination of opportunity, support from family, and a more realisitic look at myself that pushed me toward achieving a level of success that I never had before. I took the risk of wanting something, trying hard, and not knowing how it would turn out. The risk has paid off and with the right motivation I've risen the challenges that have been put in front of me.

Now, I want to challenge you. If you're reading this blog and you think I'm on to something. I you think my experience sounds familiar and you're ready to prove to yourself what you're capable of, then do it! Decide what you want and hold yourself accountable for going after it.

If you're reading this blog and you think I'm full of it, or you think I'm sugar coating reality, or you just plain disagree with me, then I want to ask you one thing? Are you satisfied with your academic performance? Really satisfied? Do you know that you have done everything you can to get what you want and do you know that you have followed through with your commitment to school 100%? If you can't confidently scream "Yes!" to that last question, then what's stopping you? I invite you to join me in the Coaches 4.0 Challenge and go after the success you are really capable of.

Sincerely,
Sarah M.
AAC Supervisor

For information on the Coaches' 4.0 Challenge please visit the Academic Achievement Center section of the First Year Programs website, http://aac.uconn.edu or email aac@uconn.edu