If you're like me, when you were in high school, you did well. I'm not saying that you were at the top of your class or anything, but you were pretty high up. You probably took at least one AP class or something of that equivalent. You did well enough on your ACT or SAT tests, again, not at the top percent, but definitely a respectable score. You start sending out your applications to colleges and universities and you aren't too terribly concerned about getting into your dream school

Then, you got into college and you had heard that college classes were going to be harder than anything you had taken in high school. You sign up for your first semester classes, which probably included a lot of basic level, gen-ed courses that you weren't really all that interested in. You battle through that first semester, and you now realize that maybe you weren't as smart as you thought you were. You definitely did not rock those finals and probably ended up with a GPA lower than you ever received in high school. So, what do you do?

You keep going. Maybe not in this moment, but some day you will realize that adjusting to college-level classes are going to be more challenging. Then also account for the fact that you are taking gen-ed's, which might not be totally interesting to you, so you might not put in as much work as you would in the classes that are for your major or minor.

So you keep signing up for classes, each and every semester, and you are burning through your gen-ed's, just trying to finish them (because you need them to graduate) as well as trying to mix in more and more of what you actually want to learn about. Sometimes, you are lucky enough to find a class that double-crosses the gen-ed requirement, as well as a requirement for your major or minor.

It might not be until your third year that you finally find your stride. You start picking up that GPA that might have been lower than you originally would have liked. Is it because you have gotten smarter in the past couple years of college? Is it because you actually like the classes that you are taking, that they fill you with a passion and desire to continue learning? Is it because you want to read all of the books and passages before class every day, instead of just skimming or looking online to get a general idea of the text?

I would argue, from personal experience, that it is a combination of these questions. You might be doing better because you are simply getting smarter, you are getting to know your professors better and with that, you are able to know how to write your final paper for them, in the way that will make them happy.

You finally find the classes that fill you with the desire to learn. You want to go to class almost everyday and talk about what you had to read for that class. You have a wonderful classroom to go into, where you can share ideas openly and discuss without judgement. A classroom where you can joke around in, but also get down to business. You have a wonderful professor you inspires you to do your best work and inspires you to always come to class prepared for that day.

You want to actually read the books, because you know that if you don't you won't be able to participate fully in class, and that would just be a shame. You also want to read the books because they are actually interesting. The stories that are being told or the information that is being put forth just makes you want to continue on reading and never want to put it down.

After that first semester, you might have had the thoughts of "why am I even here? I'm not smart enough for this." And it really makes you doubt your ability to learn, but what I've got to say is, just keep pushing through. One day, one semester, you are going to be in classes that you love and wants to make you learn and by being in those classes, you end up doing better and actually reach the desired goal of what you wanted during your college career.

Don't give up, you are smart, just keep going.