Assignment 19 Ian Harrison

The best advice I've ever been given is to not worry too much about my grades. All those cliches like "grades are just a number" and things like that had a profound effect on me when I began to struggle with them. I was one of those kids who didn't have to study very much in elementary and middle school, so when I finally hit the latter part of eighth grade and then freshman year, I had no idea what I was doing. To be honest, I panicked a little bit. My grades began to slip. I was starting to think I just plain stupid. When I started hearing things like this from people, I realized they really were just a number and that I shouldn't be so focused on them. Believe it or not, this actually helped me do better. The sense of calm that this new discovery gave me allowed me to calm down and take my time on things. I didn't cram the night before, I just made sure I could remember what was taught each day so I didn't have to worry so much. My grades began to settle at more normal numbers and I began to relax, and school's been much less stressful ever since. So when someone tells you grades are just a number, listen, because they really are.