Persistence is the key to your “A”

Cristina E. Garcia|Staff Writer

I was talking to some friends recently about graduate school, and one of them  said something I thought we all needed to hear. He said “A” students aren’t necessarily the brightest.

I agree, they’re the most persistent. Those are the students leaving the campus at 1 a.m. bleary-eyed because they were preparing for class.

This semester, I’ve been taking a class with a professor infamous for giving “B+” as the highest grade. When I signed up for the course, this didn’t scare me. I knew “A” was possible because I work like an “A” student.

The class asks that I invest about 12 hours a week into it. Three days a week, I get to the University at 9:30 a.m. and often don’t leave until 9 p.m. At minimum, I dedicate 30 hours a week into this class alone, often more, yet I haven’t gotten that “A.”

I don’t just attend this class — I live it. I’m like a monk that abandoned the rest of the world to follow Buddha’s teachings to reach enlightenment.

Who is this professor? Though I won’t identify him, he’s the sort of professor you wouldn’t want around on judgment day – the sort that would make even angels nervous.

Every week, we get feedback on our work; and, every week, he identifies mistakes and places where we could improve.

Often, classmates groan in frustration. “We’re never going to get an ‘A,’” they say. But I don’t accept that. It’s that sort of mentality that’s limiting them from reaching it.

“One does not simply walk into Mordor,” said Boromir from “The Lord of the Rings,” and one does not simply get an “A.” It’s something you have to plan for and work at. You don’t just complete the required assignments; you have to complete that and then some.

Every day, I’m looking into ways I could improve my work for this class. I read about the subject, I take notes and keep pictures of things I could try; I speak to others knowledgeable on the matter and do my best to prevent mistakes from happening again.

I’ve incorporated what I’ve learned in this class into other classes’ work and the teachers praise me. In my other classes, I’ve only received “A’s.” So what’s happening?

There are days I feel lost. I question my abilities, where I stand in the class and if I should drop out and pick up hummus-making as a profession. Some days, those critiques are really harsh.

Well, I won’t lie. The professor is right and there are mistakes and things I could improve. But, I don’t let that stop me. I keep working like the “A” student that I am.

Every day, I go to class, pick up my pencil, heed his notes and try again. I don’t settle for “B+.”

It took Buddha more than a few meditation sessions to reach enlightenment and it took a whole crew and three volumes to defeat the Dark Lord Sauron, but it was done. People have done all sorts of amazing things because they kept working at it, even when others called them crazy or thought them ill-suited for the task.

Heaven isn’t full of saints. It’s full of people that made mistakes and worked their hardest to do better. I’ve made my mistakes, but I know I work really hard to improve.

Whether I can get it or not, it doesn’t matter. What matters is the fact that I don’t settle, I keep learning and my work reflects development. At the end of the day, I’m an “A” student.