As I handed in my chemistry exam on Tuesday night, I took one last look at the small portion of the class that remained, and I must say, I have not seen a more depressed group of people in the year and a half that I’ve been at Dartmouth. My classmates’ characteristic passion and determination was now more distant than Lebron James’s hairline. Seriously, the desolate look on the faces of the 15 or so students left was akin to the facial expression of Silly Rabbit after his Trix had been stolen.
I walked out of the exam, checked my phone and saw a text from my mom. “How’d the exam go?”
“How’d the Vietnam War go, mom?”
She didn’t deserve that text, and I didn’t send it. (Honestly, I only thought of it afterwards, but I plan on saving it for next time.) But the exam felt like the Bay of Pigs all over again.
Just before I left, I walked over to a freshman with tears running down her face, and I said, “Hey, I didn’t do well either. Don’t worry too much.” I told her that it didn’t matter, that it was just one test, that it would have no impact on her future and that it would all be okay. And I truly meant it, but she didn’t seem to understand where I was coming from. She was too busy worrying about getting into medical school and becoming a doctor — and how this one test was going to crush all of her dreams. In reality, if she wants to be a doctor, then an introductory chemistry exam will not stop her.
She did not seem to grasp that, and she wasn’t alone. Many of my classmates are still blowing a gasket over the exam. Not only are they shvitzing over a grade that they have not even received, but even if they had, there’s nothing they can do about it now. Just move on and do better next time.
It’s easy to understand why students are so hard on themselves. In today’s world, and especially at an Ivy League college, there is so much pressure to succeed, whether this pressure is self-inflicted, parental or societal. Everyone is worried about his or her future, and rightfully so. I mean, who can blame anyone for wanting to consistently perform his or her best? It’s admirable. It really is. But it’s also not the end of the world if you perform poorly on an exam every once in a while.
Yes, you should strive to succeed and do your best in everything you do, but there is no need to break down over a nearly meaningless test. One exam in one class in the larger context of our four years of college will have no significant impact on the outcomes of our lives. If you studied your hardest and did your best, that’s all you can do. Besides, Cs get degrees, right?
I recently had a friend tell me that Chem 5 was the hardest, most frustrating class she has taken at Dartmouth. But she also said that it was the best thing that ever happened to her, because she is more “chill” now. Sometimes we all need to “chill” and realize that one bad grade, or one good grade for that matter, is not going to significantly impact our futures.
I want to be careful here. I am not saying that getting in the habit of failing is okay, because it is most certainly not. Nor am I saying that you should strive for Cs — that was a joke. What I really meant was that D stands for diploma. Just kidding.
In all seriousness, what I am trying to say is don’t stress the little things. You can do better next time, but worrying is only going to make you more frustrated and less productive. Think about the long run. Think about what real impact one test will have on the rest of your life. What’s the worst thing that could happen? Maybe you withdraw from the class, maybe your GPA drops one-tenth or two-tenths of a point or maybe you even change your major. Chances are you won’t even need that class in your future profession. It’s one bad grade, not a bad life. It’s perfectly all right to relax a little bit and take some of the pressure off. And if I’m wrong? Well, I’m just some 20-year-old kid with a computer, what do I know?
