Sometimes it seems like grades are the most important thing in the world. We let numbers like our GPA define who we are and how we feel about ourselves, which isn't right. In reality, it is what you truly learn in a class, not what score you get that defines you.

In our years of schooling, teachers impart to us knowledge on a variety of subjects to make us well-rounded people. It’s important to recognize and appreciate the ones who give us this knowledge and do it well, rather than focusing on the letter we are given at the end of a class.

The teachers who care about us and our success are only there to encourage us and look out for us even if we fail an exam. Instead of taking a grade personally, use the opportunity to grow and figure out what went wrong rather than ruminating on a specific problem.

It’s much more important to come out of a class being a more educated person than it is to come out of a class with an “A.”

It is also important to remember that there are other experiences we have in our college careers which are completely unrelated to schooling but teach us things we need to know in order to live happy and successful lives.

Balancing work with school and fun is an important skill to learn when it becomes blinding working too hard to make money, or to give up on a fun activity to study for a letter grade that you probably won't even remember in five years.

“Where do you see yourself in five years?” The classic interview question. In five years, I would like to be happy. I don't know what my job will be and I don't know where I’ll be living, but I want to be satisfied with where I am by knowing that I deserve to be there. I want to know that I have not missed out on my life by worrying about things that won't be important in another five years.

You know what I know I will remember in five years? The teachers who taught me something. The friends who cared about me. The memories I made by taking advantage of the time I had when I had it to spare.

College is about more than just getting a GPA or getting a job. College is about learning. I have learned so much in my two years at university and I know I have much more to learn, even after I do hear pomp and circumstance play as I receive my diploma. I want to know that I am living my life to the fullest and appreciating everything that I have, and where I am going to go.