All my life I've been a smart kid, a child prodigy, a gifted student, a fast learner. For me, school just came naturally and a 4.0 showed up on my report card every semester with little to no effort. It made other people crazy that I could walk into a test I didn't know I had and walk out with a solid A. Starting college, however, was a whole different ballgame. All of a sudden, classes were difficult, tests were worth a whole lot more, and I finally had complete control of my own schedule. Unwisely, I designated no time to study. The night before (or the morning of) big quizzes and tests I'd look over the material and expect to waltz into class and do great, just like middle school and high school. Whoa, was I in for a huge wake-up call.

Since I never had to study in high school I knew I was going to have to learn to perform at a college level. After I completely bombed my first chemistry midterm, my professor told me that my best bet was to drop the class and to take the year off of science to learn how to study. Over the rest of the quarter, I not only learned how to succeed in a college curriculum but I also learned several other valuable lessons that will continue to help me as I face these challenges. Here's a list of things I learned the hard way that I hope will be beneficial to other smart kids in this finals season and beyond.

It's okay to ask for help.

This was a really hard one for me to come to terms with. I didn't want to look stupid so I avoided letting my professor know that I was struggling with the material. BIG mistake. Finally, at the end of the quarter, I made a tutoring appointment and had an older student help me with what I didn't understand. It was so beneficial and not at all awkward. By swallowing my pride and admitting that I didn't know, I was able to get the help and attention I needed to succeed.

You actually have to put in the work.

While this may seem like a no-brainer, it was actually surprising to me that I couldn't spend all night watching Netflix and scrolling Facebook and still succeed on a test I knew nothing about. You have to put in the work if you want the results.

There are people around whose job it is to help you succeed.

Professors, college counselors, TA's, tutors, and even older students all want you to have the best possible college experience ever and they are more than happy to help you as long as you ask.

A "B" or a "C" or even a failure is not the end of the world.

Before college, I'd never had a grade on a report card lower than a B- (in AP Physics). I've had to reevaluate what it means to succeed but I'm learning not to be so hard on myself when I don't do as well on an assignment as I'd hoped to.

You are not defined by only one thing.

I've always been the smart kid but I'm deciding that there are more aspects of my life that define who I am aside from my academic performance. I'm a dependable employee, a loyal friend, a driven pre-health student, a loving caregiver, and so much more.

While school needs to be my priority over the next few years, I am learning that there needs to be a balance between my academics and everything else that makes up the college experience. I can absolutely study better now than I could when college began but I've also learned so many valuable lessons that will impact my life long after I'm taking midterms and writing essays about ancient Chinese Art.