Open Letter to Those Finishing College

It's funny how our Facebook memories have an almost instant humbling effect. Today, we will talk about mine.

Its another day in Michigan, the leaves are falling, the wind is blowing and I am hauling a** across campus 8:30 in the morning, as I do every Monday and Wednesday. If you think taking morning classes is a struggle, imagine taking an Economics class where you are one of one hundred students anxiously trying to understand the words your professor is speaking absentminded into the whiteboard.

Macroeconomics was my first class as a freshman. It was by far one of the hardest classes I've taken during my collegiate career. I remember studying day and night, going to office hours, getting a tutor at the library, and seeking help from upperclassmen. Nothing was working, I just couldn't get "it". This one class was rocking my world.

When the grades were turned in I got a "C-". All A's and one C- put me on academic probation within the Honor's College. My advisers didn't care that it was one of the highest grades in the class, they didn't care that the professors didn't/don't treat students as customers (this is a topic for later discussion), however they were highly concerned that I wasn't fit for college or the Honor's Program.

I was ready to drop out. Seriously.

As a "presumed scholar" it was really messing with me. I graduated in the top 3% of schools in my district. I caught on to information easily, but then again, that was HIGH SCHOOL, a now thing of the past.

I kept wondering, "Am I really smart? Or was a just a big fish in a little pond? Is this what they mean when they say college isn't for everybody?" I didn't want to take out another loan, I was ready to go home.

Fast forward to 6 years later, that teacher, those advisers, those naysayers are not even a thought anymore. I had let that grade consume me. It was just a class. That intense frustration has passed and is no longer a thought in my mind.

The most pertinent piece of advice that I received was "your grades don't define you", so I had to give up on that #DeansListorDie mentality. As a Human Resource Specialist, its true, 'C's get degrees' cause we are not checking your transcripts.

So to all the students out there struggling, reconsidering, and ready to give up, its only temporary. Six years from now it will all be worth it. If you are in hell, KEEP GOING! Don't let it consume you, there is light and mimosas at the end of the tunnel.

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We'd love to hear your feedback. What class is giving you the flux, and how are you handling the pressure this semester is bringing?