"she's been skipping days, spilling her drinks down the sink, and you know, she's never coming home
I'm an over-achiever, it's true. Some might even call that an understatement. I regularly deprive myself of sleep in order to not only complete my homework, but to complete it to the best of my ability. I drink multiple cups of coffee, everyday (and we're not talking girly frou-frou coffee drinks here, kids, I drink real coffee). I've been known to call in sick because I've fallen asleep at the computer and my paper is not finished or because I feel an assignment is not up to par. Teachers have told me that they grade me at a different level than other students. I've never gotten a final grade lower than a B+ in any class (and it only happened once.) Simply put, academics mean a lot to me. Doing well in school means a lot to me. Learning means a lot to me.
The point here is that if you know me well at all, you are almost certainly aware of this fact. I'm an over-achiever and I probably always will be.
If you see me on a daily basis, have classes with me, etc. you should be used to it. Please don't tell me that I'm being silly. I don't consider it silly, although you're certainly welcome to. Don't tell me I'm being too hard on myself. I have always been hard on myself. Please, don't belittle my standards for myself. I take pride in doing good work, which is not to say that I haven't also mastered the art of bullshitting, and in that respect, perhaps some of my grades have been undeserved. I certainly won't claim that I'm high and mighty and all about the learning process because, well, damn, do I like those nice neat rows of A's on my transcript right below my 3.92 GPA. I'll contest grades that I don't believe that I deserve, and in the past I have been guilty of contesting those that I did deserve because, let's be honest, good grades are unfortunately quite important in the admissions process, just as test scores and rank and GPA and all of that are. We all have to do a certain amount of bull-shitting and catering to certain teachers to get to the places where we can really learn what we want to.
Right now, however, I'm working my butt off to get my A's. I want my 5 on my Art History AP Exam and top marks on my final analysis. Leave me to it, kids. I don't mind reading my 9 1/2 lb. Stokstad textbook at lunch instead of going out, and to be honest I don't have the cash to spare right now anyway. I work during my free period everyday instead of sleeping and I get on average about four hours of sleep a night. To be honest, I like it. I like work, I like having work to do, and for the most part I like the work that I do. I'm one of those people who will remain in academia far longer than is remotely healthy. That's just the way it's going to be.
P.S. Thanks to Melina for recommending Regina Spektor to me because I am loving her, right now.
The point here is that if you know me well at all, you are almost certainly aware of this fact. I'm an over-achiever and I probably always will be.
If you see me on a daily basis, have classes with me, etc. you should be used to it. Please don't tell me that I'm being silly. I don't consider it silly, although you're certainly welcome to. Don't tell me I'm being too hard on myself. I have always been hard on myself. Please, don't belittle my standards for myself. I take pride in doing good work, which is not to say that I haven't also mastered the art of bullshitting, and in that respect, perhaps some of my grades have been undeserved. I certainly won't claim that I'm high and mighty and all about the learning process because, well, damn, do I like those nice neat rows of A's on my transcript right below my 3.92 GPA. I'll contest grades that I don't believe that I deserve, and in the past I have been guilty of contesting those that I did deserve because, let's be honest, good grades are unfortunately quite important in the admissions process, just as test scores and rank and GPA and all of that are. We all have to do a certain amount of bull-shitting and catering to certain teachers to get to the places where we can really learn what we want to.
Right now, however, I'm working my butt off to get my A's. I want my 5 on my Art History AP Exam and top marks on my final analysis. Leave me to it, kids. I don't mind reading my 9 1/2 lb. Stokstad textbook at lunch instead of going out, and to be honest I don't have the cash to spare right now anyway. I work during my free period everyday instead of sleeping and I get on average about four hours of sleep a night. To be honest, I like it. I like work, I like having work to do, and for the most part I like the work that I do. I'm one of those people who will remain in academia far longer than is remotely healthy. That's just the way it's going to be.
P.S. Thanks to Melina for recommending Regina Spektor to me because I am loving her, right now.