Grades are not supposed to define who we are, yet when typecasted as the intelligent student, we let grades determine our goodness. In high school, I used to prefer tests over projects. In fact, when a teacher handed out an anonymous survey asking the class how they preferred the class to be run, I wrote out of sadism, \”Longer essays. More tests.\”

Back then, I knew how to \”cheat\” the system. I rarely studied and was a slacker really. The only moments that I can recall doing anything academically productive at my desk was doing homework. Particularly the math homework.

After more than 6 years of college, I realize that tests aren\’t everything. Tests suck, simply put. That is why I was able to \”cheat\” the system in high school without really learning anything. They test whether you know how the professor thinks is important and whether you know how take a test. This points out the failure of such aptitude tests such as the SAT and the GRE. I did above the mean on both, but not extraordinarily well. What none of these tests do is find out an individual\’s drive for potential.

This morning, I woke up from a nightmare where I failed a course. I argued with the professor saying that the F was unwarranted that even though I wasn\’t an ideator or a natural speaker, it was unfair to receive such a poor grade. She looked at me with pity and apologized saying that was what the syllabus from the very beginning had stated. My world started falling apart…and then suddenly I woke up to a world where grades are meaningless.

We all naturally want to be great. As a student, it\’s almost as if our school achievements define how great we can be. But isn\’t it more than that? The relationships we build? The change we make for the better? Not only for ourselves, but everyone else. What then is the definition of greatness?