Stop Talking About Grades - It's Just Stupid.
Yes.
I'm back.
Again.
Hold the applause. (jk what applause everyone's probably deserted this)
And to talk about something that's been pissing me off lately. (Early warning: I will be using "pissed off many, many times. Viewer discretion advised.)
For the readers who don't know, I just recently moved from Los Angeles to Austin. As a high schooler, I know. Of course, it's all fun and dread in school, what with tests and quizzes practically every day. Not too different from the competitive "all Asian" school I just moved from. But there is one thing that's pissing me off.
Grades.
Now, don't get me wrong. My grades are perfectly fine. I would tell you about them, but then that would sort of contradict the rant I'm about to go off of. Just know that in Indian-parents-that-care terms - I'm alright.
No, what pisses me off is the fact that everyone's displaying it. Out for everyone to hear.
This is wrong.
Hear me out.
It's cool that you're proud that you got the highest grade in your class. That you put hours of effort into studying. That's awesome! But you know that feeling you get once you get that awesome grade? That feeling of wanting to...tell someone?
The second that thought comes to mind, you scan the room for the first friend you can find.
You run up to them, and out of your mouth spurts out: "What did YOU get?"
It's the world's most adored and despised question. There are only two reasons why you ask it: either you got a good score and you ask someone else so that way you can shove your ego up their nose, or you got a bad score and you want to comfort yourself by asking for other people's scores, secretly hoping that they got worse than you to please yourself.
Why? Like, what's the point of doing either?
According to my extensive math, your grade ≠ your friend's grade - this equation rings true for the most part. I'm not talking about just the grade itself. Sure, both of you can get a 92/100 or whatever, but what about the amount of effort each of you guys put? One person may have done it after without even flipping a page, while the other may have spent their entire night studying. Worse yet, what if you did all that studying, only to get a lower score? It's going to hurt when your friend says "I didn't even study," or "That was the easiest test I've ever taken."
To be honest...I'm sort of a hypocrite. I mean, in general, I'm really a hypocrite...when I got a really good grade in evil-not-so-evil Mr. Wilt's Biology class (a 93 sorry I had to I'm so proud) I shoved it into my parents, my friends, you guys....I couldn't help it. But there were people I didn't tell it to - and that was anyone who was actually in his class. I knew there were people in there who'd tried harder than I did, but still scored worse than I did. I didn't know who they are, but I didn't care much to find out either.
Not everyone's like that.
Mild example: One of my best friends, let's call her Amara, took Biology over the summer (I was still in Cali during this). She freaking slaughtered every test that came in her way. Like, seriously, the ink of her victims where permanently indented on her fingers. I remember when she'd come out of my - er, her classroom with a wide grin before asking me
"Guess what I got on that test"
She would then have me guess every possible grade she could get, before whispering I got a _____*mention any number between 95 and 100*
I got B's and A-'s on every test, and she knew it. She ended up passing with an overall
97.
I'm still pissed.
But she deserved it.
Seriously, though. Wilt isn't any easier over the summer - he uses the same tests both times. This just means less study-time. Amara still managed to ace it with flying colors. Also, she only told TWO people about her grades; me, and then her mother. She's not on top of anyone else's head, bragging her way through life.
Amara's fair game.
You must be asking; "then who is?"
I'll tell you who. No names mentioned.
In fact, the perfect example occurred during my Chem class today.
(Now that I think about it, all the drama happens in my science classes. Coincidence? I think not.)
There are these two guys in my class. One of them is a top ranker, the other is his friend.
PAUSE. Before I continue, lemme explain what rank is to all the non-Texans out there. So basically rank is this stupid idea some idiot school board dude made up: Every single kid's gonna be given a rank in high school, based on their GPA and the classes they took. It's gonna depend on grade level. The top ten's gonna be honored and made famous on the school website their senior years. We're gonna have a ton of kids rip out their eyeballs by having them compete against each other.
Whoever came up with this must've been drunk while making it.
PLAY.
Where was I? Oh, right.
These two. Would not. Shut up. About their grades. No, it went even further. Out to GPAs, each and every score for each and every class, how they're ranked "number 5" or "number fourteen". Not to mention they were talking very, very loudly. As the bell rang and everyone headed out, they where still yapping out and about their "4.61 GPA". It took all my willpower not to rip out the fire extinguisher near me and bonk it over their ginormous heads. Don't worry, I knew their over inflated ego would cushion the blow.
*sigh*
Ok, I'll stop ranting now. I don't really know why this gets to me. It just does. I'm sure any perfect scoring scholar out there would be like "there's nothing wrong with a little pride". And there honestly isn't. Just...don't shove it into other people's business. No one cares how well you memorized poly atomic ions. You can't put up on your job resume "I once got a 98 on my photosynthesis test". Yeah no. We all know the real world doesn't work that way.
Let's take a test.
You can brag about your grades all you want to:
a. your parents
b. yourself
c. the literal universe
d. pineapples
If you chose a, b, or d, then WINNER WINNER CHICKEN DINNER!
Ok, ok, I'll actually stop now.
All in all...don't talk about your grades - all the time. It's cool if you're glad with what you got, and be proud of your efforts. But don't waste that effort on telling other people. Not only is it going to get you stressed out, but others too. For anyone who's in school, remember; grades aren't the only thing colleges/jobs look at. There's more to it. Anyone can be a straight-A robot, but the tough part is being unique. Want to get into your dream college? Here's a secret: do the stuff you love. Watch your grades and don't let them tumble down, but don't let them eat up your life either. Enjoy the roller coaster while you still can.
Thanks to me, you might actually start noticing people doing this. In fact, I'm witnessing one right now.
Hope to see you again soon (haha no promises though)
-Ganga
I'm back.
Again.
Hold the applause. (jk what applause everyone's probably deserted this)
And to talk about something that's been pissing me off lately. (Early warning: I will be using "pissed off many, many times. Viewer discretion advised.)
For the readers who don't know, I just recently moved from Los Angeles to Austin. As a high schooler, I know. Of course, it's all fun and dread in school, what with tests and quizzes practically every day. Not too different from the competitive "all Asian" school I just moved from. But there is one thing that's pissing me off.
Grades.
Now, don't get me wrong. My grades are perfectly fine. I would tell you about them, but then that would sort of contradict the rant I'm about to go off of. Just know that in Indian-parents-that-care terms - I'm alright.
No, what pisses me off is the fact that everyone's displaying it. Out for everyone to hear.
This is wrong.
Hear me out.
It's cool that you're proud that you got the highest grade in your class. That you put hours of effort into studying. That's awesome! But you know that feeling you get once you get that awesome grade? That feeling of wanting to...tell someone?
The second that thought comes to mind, you scan the room for the first friend you can find.
You run up to them, and out of your mouth spurts out: "What did YOU get?"
It's the world's most adored and despised question. There are only two reasons why you ask it: either you got a good score and you ask someone else so that way you can shove your ego up their nose, or you got a bad score and you want to comfort yourself by asking for other people's scores, secretly hoping that they got worse than you to please yourself.
Why? Like, what's the point of doing either?
According to my extensive math, your grade ≠ your friend's grade - this equation rings true for the most part. I'm not talking about just the grade itself. Sure, both of you can get a 92/100 or whatever, but what about the amount of effort each of you guys put? One person may have done it after without even flipping a page, while the other may have spent their entire night studying. Worse yet, what if you did all that studying, only to get a lower score? It's going to hurt when your friend says "I didn't even study," or "That was the easiest test I've ever taken."
To be honest...I'm sort of a hypocrite. I mean, in general, I'm really a hypocrite...when I got a really good grade in evil-not-so-evil Mr. Wilt's Biology class (a 93 sorry I had to I'm so proud) I shoved it into my parents, my friends, you guys....I couldn't help it. But there were people I didn't tell it to - and that was anyone who was actually in his class. I knew there were people in there who'd tried harder than I did, but still scored worse than I did. I didn't know who they are, but I didn't care much to find out either.
Not everyone's like that.
Mild example: One of my best friends, let's call her Amara, took Biology over the summer (I was still in Cali during this). She freaking slaughtered every test that came in her way. Like, seriously, the ink of her victims where permanently indented on her fingers. I remember when she'd come out of my - er, her classroom with a wide grin before asking me
"Guess what I got on that test"
She would then have me guess every possible grade she could get, before whispering I got a _____*mention any number between 95 and 100*
I got B's and A-'s on every test, and she knew it. She ended up passing with an overall
97.
I'm still pissed.
But she deserved it.
Seriously, though. Wilt isn't any easier over the summer - he uses the same tests both times. This just means less study-time. Amara still managed to ace it with flying colors. Also, she only told TWO people about her grades; me, and then her mother. She's not on top of anyone else's head, bragging her way through life.
Amara's fair game.
You must be asking; "then who is?"
I'll tell you who. No names mentioned.
In fact, the perfect example occurred during my Chem class today.
(Now that I think about it, all the drama happens in my science classes. Coincidence? I think not.)
There are these two guys in my class. One of them is a top ranker, the other is his friend.
PAUSE. Before I continue, lemme explain what rank is to all the non-Texans out there. So basically rank is this stupid idea some idiot school board dude made up: Every single kid's gonna be given a rank in high school, based on their GPA and the classes they took. It's gonna depend on grade level. The top ten's gonna be honored and made famous on the school website their senior years. We're gonna have a ton of kids rip out their eyeballs by having them compete against each other.
Whoever came up with this must've been drunk while making it.
PLAY.
Where was I? Oh, right.
These two. Would not. Shut up. About their grades. No, it went even further. Out to GPAs, each and every score for each and every class, how they're ranked "number 5" or "number fourteen". Not to mention they were talking very, very loudly. As the bell rang and everyone headed out, they where still yapping out and about their "4.61 GPA". It took all my willpower not to rip out the fire extinguisher near me and bonk it over their ginormous heads. Don't worry, I knew their over inflated ego would cushion the blow.
*sigh*
Ok, I'll stop ranting now. I don't really know why this gets to me. It just does. I'm sure any perfect scoring scholar out there would be like "there's nothing wrong with a little pride". And there honestly isn't. Just...don't shove it into other people's business. No one cares how well you memorized poly atomic ions. You can't put up on your job resume "I once got a 98 on my photosynthesis test". Yeah no. We all know the real world doesn't work that way.
Let's take a test.
You can brag about your grades all you want to:
a. your parents
b. yourself
c. the literal universe
d. pineapples
If you chose a, b, or d, then WINNER WINNER CHICKEN DINNER!
Ok, ok, I'll actually stop now.
All in all...don't talk about your grades - all the time. It's cool if you're glad with what you got, and be proud of your efforts. But don't waste that effort on telling other people. Not only is it going to get you stressed out, but others too. For anyone who's in school, remember; grades aren't the only thing colleges/jobs look at. There's more to it. Anyone can be a straight-A robot, but the tough part is being unique. Want to get into your dream college? Here's a secret: do the stuff you love. Watch your grades and don't let them tumble down, but don't let them eat up your life either. Enjoy the roller coaster while you still can.
Thanks to me, you might actually start noticing people doing this. In fact, I'm witnessing one right now.
Hope to see you again soon (haha no promises though)
-Ganga
Imma be unprofessional and say (or type) that I have not deserted your blog and you're a queen but seriously whhhyyy do you have time to write blogs and not talk to your best friend who is currently dying due to AP classes. Love you though <3
ReplyDelete(this is so unprofessional, you might make me delete this later lol)