Today, I checked my Carmen, an online site that lists things like content, quizzes, and grades of participating classes, to see if my COMM 200 Midterm grade had been posted. I was a little nervous, considering that I KNEW which questions I got wrong (I checked right after the test--I know, it's sad.) And since I took the exam on Thursday, I figured that the chances of my grade being posted on Sunday were quite slim.

Surprisingly, there was a grade waiting for me online today. Out of 40 questions, I racked my brains and got 35 of them right. That means a B+.

A B+.

I must confess, that I'm somewhat of a perfectionist--in fact, if I could, I would be the perfect perfectionist (I'm still working on that). I hate making mistakes, and my academic ambitions have only increased since I've been campus. Hearing lectures about global competition, 401Ks, Internships, and other great key terms in the other realm known frightfully by some and enthusiastically by others as the "Real World" makes me scared sometimes. So much that I get a little upset about a B+.

After reflecting (briefly) on that, I realized that the world will go on. Yes, grades ARE very important. They can reflect your dedication and aptitude in a class. They can open doors for you, give you scholarships, respect, and coveted jobs. But I feel that when I get caught up in measuring myself with my grades, I either get too comfortable when I'm doing well or discouraged or anxious when I feel that I'm not up to speed. I'm learning to relax and try to look grades as a source of motivation.