I'm Proud Of You

Story I grew up as the kind of student that wouldn’t settle for anything less than the best. Now, I know how that sounds, but I worked really hard for good grades. To say I didn’t have much of a social life would be an understatement, but it was a worthy sacrifice because I reaped the rewards of my many hours of studying and quizzing myself. But, the downside of that – besides missing out on parties and hangouts – was that if I received a grade less than what I strove for, I was really disappointed. At the time, I didn’t see those grades as ways to improve, but as a sign of failure. I put so much pressure on myself, and I blamed myself for not doing well.