College Failure

Thursday morning I heard some excellent news. However, before I tell you exactly what the news is, I find the need to give a little bit of a backdrop. No worries though, it shouldn't take long (unless you're a slow reader, in which case it's your own fault :) ).

In the fall of 2006 (at the age of 16) I began a chapter in my life called college. This was made possible by Washington State's Running Start Program. The program gave me and other juniors in high school the opportunity to take college courses as a substitute for high school classes. This program is intended to give high school students the opportunity to graduate high school with their associate's degree.

Sounds great, doesn't it? Unfortunately, that fall quarter didn't turn out quite as well as I expected.  I didn't pass my Spanish class. The second quarter didn't fare any better. The third quarter? I failed two classes.  The result of that spring quarter was a suspension from the fall quarter.

Fast forward to today. I have already been suspended for my failing GPA two (or is it three) times. I changed degrees in 2008, and due to finances, had to skip both the spring and summer quarter of 2009.  The consequence of my failures: a two year degree has quickly turned into a five year Associates.

Pretty sad isn't it? And here I was talking about good news? Don't worry, I'm getting there.

How is it that I ended up failing so many classes? I'm by no means stupid (please don't proofread this essay), and yet I have a GPA barely above 2.0.

This is typically where people start blaming their parents, teachers, the public school system (before my homeschooling experience of course), and tragic life circumstances. Although I have had a difficult childhood, I won't pull that wild card. The truth of the matter is: one of the greatest shortcomings I possess is self-discipline. Every common good habit from brushing and flossing twice a day to doing homework, I seem to lack. It is the number one thing I can't stand about myself, but a flaw that I apparently don't try hard enough to change.  I know everyone possess their own distinct flaws, but sometimes my flaws seem more pronounced than others. The bottom line of this rabbit trail is that the bulk of the blame falls on me.  Anyway, without further adieu, the good news.

Currently I am passing all of my classes. In fact, I believe that if I tried hard enough, I can get a 4.0 this quarter.  Of course, with 3 more weeks to go, I can still fail all of my classes as well, but let's not be pessimistic.  This quarter is the first college quarter that, up to the 7th week, I have had A's and B's in all of my classes.  The good news doesn't end here.

I was having a conversation with one of my peers in my programming class, and in lieu of the talk, discovered that I can easily switch my degree to a transferable degree.  Let me explain in a little more detail.

Previously, I did not want a transfer degree. The reason was bundled up into one word: Spanish.  I have tried to learn Spanish and have failed, only to pass the second time taking the class. I merely repeated the cycle in Spanish 102.  I don't want to fail the third Spanish class. I already know that I would be a fish out of water. Unfortunately, learning a second language is a requirement for many of the transfer degrees that are offered at LCC, and I don't have the guts to take Spanish again.

The above conversation with my peer helped me discover that not only does this transfer degree require no second language, but also that the only difference between the non-transfer and transferable degree is that the first requires a minimum of Math 99, whereas the second requires a minimum of Math 107.  I have already taken Math 113.  I've gone beyond both of them.  And to think that all this time I was selling myself short.

When I was thirteen, I never thought I would make it to college.  When I started college, I never thought I would get a Bachelor's Degree. Now, for the first time in my life, I have started to consider that possibility.

I would say that that qualifies for good news.

Sharing is Caring