It feels good...

...to know that what you did wasn't for nothing. I have spent the last four years working my tail off to get really good grades in college. So far my lowest was a B in Calculus and another in Spanish. Other than that I have had A's and A-'s, with a 4.0 GPA one semester.

I have had to take an enormous amount of criticism and ribbing over the fact that I preferred going home and working and doing homework and studying for hours for exams ands quizzes and the like. I've just brushed it off for the most part, though when it comes from your friends it does get you down a bit! When I first decided to go to college I knew I wanted to get my money's worth, so that is what I did.

I took every class I could fit into my schedule, some for extra emphasis within my major, some just for sheer joy, such as Art History 2 after taking Art History 1 for a gen ed requirement. (I loved the teacher, and the material really was fascinating.) So I basically just did what I felt was right. Took as many credits as I could, in whatever I wanted, and still be able to meet all my requirements for graduation. As a result I have 145 credit hours completed, with 126 being all that is necessary (and I am pretty sure that doesn't count my internship).

Then this morning vindication for what I have done came in the mail:

"Dear Ms. Friers: Congratulations! As the Bachelor of Technology Degree December 2007 graduate with the highest grade point average in the School of Agriculture and Natural Resources, you have been selected as the recipient of the December 2007 Commencement Academic Achievement Award... current cumulative grade point average of a 3.79."

And so I feel much better. I feel like my grades really DID matter, unlike what everyone said about the "as long as you pass" mentality that made college so much more fun. And all the profs telling me I needed to act more like a kid than an adult. Ah well, guess my work paid off. But dang it now I'm gonna have to go to commencement. And I really didn't want to!