2008 Woodie Awards
Me, Straight-A's? Maybe.
Maricor Coquia
Issue date: 3/27/07 Section: Spotlight
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I am on a mission. It is a noble cause, I assure you: as I have been suffering in my mediocrity, and despite constant comments from my professors and colleagues that "I'm being too hard on myself"-I am not one to simply say, "enough is enough." I always want to be better.
So, on goes my search for a miracle.
My previous attempt to save myself from this mediocrity was rather pathetic. On a trip to Target with a friend, I stumbled upon a C.D. titled, Art of Concentration. Supposedly filled with hidden alpha, beta, and theta brain waves, "the beautiful music" was supposed to help me concentrate and get more work done. Haha! That was a failure. I'm still very stuck on my mediocre throne. (The music is quite nice, though.)
However, one Friday, after my classes had long finished-I had come down with a mean headache. Needing some aspirin, I headed over to the bookstore. I opted to peruse a little bit.
After a few minutes, I spotted a glimmer of hope. Gleaming in red on the top shelf was a book-How To Become a Straight-A Student: The Unconventional Strategies Real College Students Use to Score High While Studying Less.
I thought, "Is this actually possible? Score high and study less?" It didn't make sense. For many who know me, I am a workhorse. Even for menial assignments, I tend to spend too much time doing them. And so, it always bugs me when friends don't believe me when I say-"No, I didn't get an A" or "No, I'm rather stupid compared to some miracle geniuses that always seem to get it."
Please don't hate me, smart ones. I am admitting my jealousy. Truthfully, my problem is extreme perfectionism. I always want every detail to be pristine. But, as I spend time muddying my fingers with these less important tasks, precious time to study is stripped away from me. My grades for big Biology, Statistics, and Chemistry exams suffer, bringing down my average and my confidence. I always seem to run out of time.
After reading through this book, however, and applying some of its concepts, I was pleasantly surprised. Please understand that I am not a grade freak. Yes, I do care about my grades, but not so much that I really want straight-A's. I just want to get rid of this "perfectionism" thing (well, not all of it)-but enough of it so that I can be happy with the quality of my assignments and not disappoint my colleagues, professors, and most importantly, myself, who sees my hard work slowly deteriorate into, well, [four letter defamatory word].
So, on goes my search for a miracle.
My previous attempt to save myself from this mediocrity was rather pathetic. On a trip to Target with a friend, I stumbled upon a C.D. titled, Art of Concentration. Supposedly filled with hidden alpha, beta, and theta brain waves, "the beautiful music" was supposed to help me concentrate and get more work done. Haha! That was a failure. I'm still very stuck on my mediocre throne. (The music is quite nice, though.)
However, one Friday, after my classes had long finished-I had come down with a mean headache. Needing some aspirin, I headed over to the bookstore. I opted to peruse a little bit.
After a few minutes, I spotted a glimmer of hope. Gleaming in red on the top shelf was a book-How To Become a Straight-A Student: The Unconventional Strategies Real College Students Use to Score High While Studying Less.
I thought, "Is this actually possible? Score high and study less?" It didn't make sense. For many who know me, I am a workhorse. Even for menial assignments, I tend to spend too much time doing them. And so, it always bugs me when friends don't believe me when I say-"No, I didn't get an A" or "No, I'm rather stupid compared to some miracle geniuses that always seem to get it."
Please don't hate me, smart ones. I am admitting my jealousy. Truthfully, my problem is extreme perfectionism. I always want every detail to be pristine. But, as I spend time muddying my fingers with these less important tasks, precious time to study is stripped away from me. My grades for big Biology, Statistics, and Chemistry exams suffer, bringing down my average and my confidence. I always seem to run out of time.
After reading through this book, however, and applying some of its concepts, I was pleasantly surprised. Please understand that I am not a grade freak. Yes, I do care about my grades, but not so much that I really want straight-A's. I just want to get rid of this "perfectionism" thing (well, not all of it)-but enough of it so that I can be happy with the quality of my assignments and not disappoint my colleagues, professors, and most importantly, myself, who sees my hard work slowly deteriorate into, well, [four letter defamatory word].
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