In college, I have learned a few things about choosing people to surround myself with, especially pertaining to grades. During my freshman year of college, I spent the first semester in my dorm doing nothing other than watching Law and Order SVU and completing my homework. I did not spend time hanging out with my Living and Learning Community or LLC, participating in the infamous college ‘Thirsty Thursdays’ and did not strive to find new friends. Freshman year, the LLC I was a member of was for Gender and Body Studies. I attended events and occasionally said “hi,” to others but I always retreated to my dorm and was in bed by 11 p.m. It was not until my second semester that I was more social, after changing roommates and becoming friends with students in the communications department.
My major is digital communications and social media. During my first semester at Cabrini, I was inducted into the National Honor Society for first-year students with a 3.9 GPA and ended the second semester with a 3.5 GPA. My roommate is a science major and she is always influencing me to do my work and stay on track. This semester, my roommate has found a study partner who is taking the same courses and it helps her stay on track. I believe that people who want to succeed themselves will surround themselves with successful and motivated people. Those who have the ‘C’s get degrees’ mindset will tend to surround themselves with people that want to achieve the same level. At the same time, it does not mean you are a bad student if you have worked very hard, yet earned a C letter grade.
Your grades are important and it shows the type of person you are through the work and time you dedicate. Hard workers will tend to attract other hard workers. When choosing my friends that I study with or do homework with I do take into consideration the type of worker they are. However, I personally do not believe that this necessarily defines a person. I have friends that do not have diplomas or a GEDs yet, those who have attended cosmetology school, friends that have gotten notices that they are failing courses, friends in honors classes, and those who have average grades. When it comes to being friends with a person, I do not think that you should base friendships solely on grades. Being friends with someone is about character, how much that person cares about you, and vice versa. When I have a wedding one day I want to be able to say that I chose my maid of honor because she has done so many amazing things for me in my life and shared so many experiences, not because she had all A’s in college.
Back at home I have friends who work at CVS, a diner, and the Hair Cuttery. One has a cosmetology degree, one is currently in dental school, and one never got her GED. This does not mean that I value them any less. I really think that one should strictly take grades into consideration when working on group projects or anything that involves academics or schoolwork. Surrounding yourself with people that want to succeed will encourage you to succeed is important, but it is also important to take into account a person’s character.
When it comes to friends, they should not be based solely on grades, but on character.
