Our GPA is everything to us in college. It is a factor that graduate schools look at or even potentially jobs. Our GPA is basically what we identify with. We try and have the best GPA we can and most of us are competitive about it.

We praise those individuals with a GPA of a 4.0 or really a 3.7 or higher. A student like myself with a GPA above a 3.0 isn't hardly praised. No my GPA is not a 4.0 but it is not a 1.0 either. I have worked incredibly hard for my GPA, maybe not harder than someone with a 4.0 but in a sense I feel like I have.

From my own experiences I have seen students with a 3.7 or 4.0 GPA study all the time; that is basically their life. Now for someone like me school is my first priority. However, after that is work. I started working at the age of 14 or 15 on my own will. My parents did not force me or ask me to get a job. They actually had to drive me to my job for a year or two. I've always had a job since then. Once I obtained my first job I started paying things for myself. First it was clothes, then a car and the bills associated with that, and now I pay for new clothes, furniture, rent, bills, and things dealing with my car. This was my own doing and I acknowledge that, but I'm grateful my mom and dad don't pay for everything. I've truly learned the value of a hard earned dollar.

I guess you're wondering where I am going with this. I work anywhere from 3-5 days a week. I usually work after my classes or on the weekends. I study when I can but I plan to study two weeks in advance since I know I can only study in small chunks. My fall semester of my senior year was the worst. I took on 27 credit hours. Yes you read that right, 27 credit hours. On top of that I worked 4 days at my usual job and babysat 5 days a week. I would get out of class, go babysit and do homework/study, go to work, come home and eat a meal, study for 20 minutes and go to sleep... then do it all over again the next day. With all of that going on I had a 3.4 GPA for that semester. I did not receive a lot of praise or acknowledgement but it was expected of me to just do well with all of that going on.

Here is my argument... I believe that someone like me who works hard in school but also works providing for themselves deserves acknowledgment. Someone who studies and works constantly deserves as much acknowledgment and praise as someone who studies all the time and gets a 3.7 to 4.0 GPA. Life is not always about a high GPA. Life is about experiences, working hard, and doing your best. If I did not have work and relied on my parents I might have a 3.7 to 4.0 GPA. Instead, I work hard for what I have both in school and money.

A 4.0 GPA might get you into a top school, but the way I look at it my solid 3.3 GPA and 6/7 years of work experience will get me farther than just having a 4.0 for myself.