The semester is coming to an end, which means finals are either in effect or are approaching. Stress levels are high, and minimal sleep is a must. The most important thing right now is doing good on all your exams, and classes, and maintaining a nice GPA. However, problems sometimes arise from this.

So often, students get so caught up in achieving or maintaining a perfect GPA that they lose touch with a lot of things. There's NOTHING wrong with being the best you can be and striving for that 4.0 (that's not what I'm trying to say at all), but it does become a problem when you start depriving yourself of other things like, social life, sleep, family life etc..

Although everyone would love to see that A or 4.0 on their final grades and transcript, sometimes it just isn't as easy, and that's okay. Sometimes you will get that A- or B+, or even B, and that's OKAY. As long as you know that you tried your hardest and gave it 100%, receiving those other letters are an accomplishment and one that you should be proud of regardless.

I guess what I'm trying to say is, not every class you take will be an easy A or sometimes even a B, but as long as you gave it your all and are proud of YOURSELF in the end for what you accomplished, then that class was a success. There will be many more classes ahead that will give you that A satisfaction but sometimes you have to wait.

As a college student, you have the obligation to juggle so many things; academics, work, extracurriculars, volunteer work, friends, and family, and I get it, it gets extremely stressful and you feel like you're the only one. But I promise you, you are not. There are so many of us out there like you going through the same thing. Maintaining a high GPA is and should be a priority and goal, but if the fear of getting a grade other than an A starts to have a great effect on anything mentioned above then you need to re-adjust. Family life is precious and should be spent and appreciated wisely, so if stressing over a GPA ever severely affects this relationship, take it as a warning sign.

So I leave you with this, good luck on your finals and the rest of the semester, you will do great. Just remember for so many, a B+ or even a B is just as well deserved and fought for as an A, and trust me that's okay. There will always be those one or two classes that will get you and make you work harder, so don't take it as something you did wrong.