This story is about me. My second semester at CCBC, I took eighteen credits of seriously difficult courses. A combination of two engineering classes, a physics class, a programming class and a Calculus class was enough to ruin any social life I had gotten the previous semester. It wasn’t the best semester at all. People advised me to drop the classes and opt for easier classes, but being the stubborn guy that I am, I didn’t listen to them at all. I remember getting a mail at home from the registrar at CCBC after spring break saying that it would be in my best interest to drop my Physics class because I have a failing grade. My dad wasn’t happy that I was failing at school and he gave me a large piece of his mind. I started skipping class and I didn’t like school anymore. I was getting depressed and things were getting out of hand.

At the end of the semester, I got the lowest gpa I ever had in my entire life. It was a ghastly sight to behold. I didn’t know how to tell my African Dad that I, his son, got a 2.0 gpa in my second semester in CCBC. I tried to postpone the day of reckoning and when it finally got to me, it was not pretty at all. I was supposed to be the smart kid. I survived the West African educational system, what was so difficult about ‘simple’ physics and calculus that I couldn’t get an A in?

As I anticipated, he gave me a piece of his mind, but he also tried to encourage me. He explained to me not to give up. He said it was easy to get discouraged easily considering I combined some of the most difficult courses known to man and tried to bulldoze it in my freshman year. If only I had seen an advisor prior to choosing those classes, I wouldn’t have made the mistakes I made.

The next semester, I was determined to get really good grades to redeem my gpa and also to make myself and my parents proud. I studied a lot and made sure to do homework and study for tests. The hard work payed off and I finished the semester with a perfect gpa. I also got to join the ambassadors that semester and learning from my mistakes in the past have propelled me to do better and I am doing better. I am scheduled to graduate from CCBC after this semester is over and I can really say that CCBC was a learning experience and a stepping stone unto better places.

The same thing applies to anyone. You probably ended the previous semester on a really harsh scale or maybe this semester doesn’t seem to be going your way, don’t worry, you’ve got this. You don’t have to quit or be discouraged or be depressed. Be Strong, you’ve got this!!