I took a test this week in one of my classes and I nearly failed. I passed the test by two-tenths of one percent. This was a close call to say the least. It was the lowest test score I’ve ever received, and I couldn’t stop thinking about it for days. I thought about some of my fellow colleagues and how happy they were to receive just a passing grade. Thinking about them, and thinking about an adage, helped me realize something I knew all along.
Gary Larson drew a comic in his famous series “The Far Side” where a man stands in the middle of a busy street in some distant city like New York. He is looking up at the sky with anxiety chiseled over his countenance. The pedestrians around him walk by completely unconcerned. The caption reads: In the real world, no one cares about your GPA.
I can’t recall one moment after leaving college where I asked someone about their GPA. I went out into the world, found a job, and started to make a living without the concern for the Dean’s List, the Summa Cum Laude accolade, or what college would be looking at my GPA next. The world of grades was over for me. I moved into the world of performance evaluations.
Until this week the road to my future seemed fairly sure. Grades would not matter. I’ve been in school over the last year and not once did I care about a grade (probably because I’ve been maintaining a solid 4.0).
No matter how far we move away from the past, we are never far enough to keep it from influencing our lives. It is like a tether that binds us to our mortal cage; bondage that can only be acknowledged and accepted, never broken.
So in passing this exam by a mere two-tenths of one percent, I was made to realize that I do want an ‘A’ in the class. I want to maintain my perfect GPA. I want to validate my return to school with the highest grade point average possible. And in the last three days, I’ve had to deal with the anxiety that plagues my thoughts about what grade I might receive next. I know that I will have to study more, but I also know something else. Nothing ever fails, not even the attempt.
Copyright © Tyler Gant 2010 for Just Moving Along .com
