The Phantom C

In high school, I was what you might call a gifted student. I had never seen a B on my report card, rarely studied for exams, and soared through five years of high school. I was accepted at every university I applied to and offered entrance scholarships. Before you write me off as another overachieving brainiac, consider this—it took me until my fourth year of university to write a paper that I was truly proud of, and deserved its A grade.

I breezed into my first year history course with the arrogance that only a 97% in high school “Modern Civilizations” could afford. My TA, Mark, couldn’t have cared less. He ruthlessly fired questions at us about the 50+ pages of primary source readings per week and had zero patience for excuses. Meanwhile, most of us were experiencing first year as a series of mindless late night parties and early morning intramural sports. There was no time for reading, let alone preparing for essays. But I had faith in my high school study skills; just pull something together at the last minute and watch the A’s roll in.

November midterms came and went. I anxiously awaited Mark’s comments on my scintillating 2000 word portrayal of Medieval European women. I had gone to the library, skimmed lots of different resources, gathered some footnote-worthy tidbits, and worked them into my overall argument (which was in there somewhere). I would have paid money to see my face when he handed back the papers and I saw a chunky C scrawled across the back page with comments including the words “pedestrian” and “underdeveloped.” I left the room quietly after tutorial, not daring to look Mark in the eye, and stormed back to my residence.

With one flick of the wrist, my shameful C was relegated to its grave under the couch, where it lay in state for the rest of the semester. I couldn’t figure out what went wrong. Sure I could have spent more time researching, writing, and editing. But I was smart. Smart people don’t get C’s. How did Mark miss that? I never found out and simply resolved to do better next time. And I did. But I still wasn’t entirely sure what about my assignments over the next two years separated the A from the B or the C.

I never forgot Mark, or my drive to impress him. My many other TA’s were nothing like him, but I could blur my eyes and conjure his bald, unsmiling face anytime I needed to scare myself into working harder.

Finally, in my fourth year, I got my chance to shine. For this paper- everything was different. I started by writing a one page proposal, allowing my professor to evaluate my ideas and arguments before I started writing. We discussed it during his office hours where he offered questions and ideas. Then I went to the library and just read, not necessarily skimming for relevant information, but grasping an overall understanding of the different arguments and evidence, immersing myself completely. I told my friends and family what I was writing about and many of them forwarded me relevant newspaper and magazine articles—some that I never would have found otherwise. Researching widely crystallized my understanding of the topic and helped me develop my own arguments. When it came time to write, those 25 pages came easily. I got my paper back at the end of the semester and I’ll never forget how gorgeous the pair of eights looked together. More importantly, the feeling of accomplishment was surreal. Finally, an A I had earned, not just one I expected.

I don’t think about Mark much anymore. But whenever I am tempted to just float along, without really giving myself a chance at excellence, that C paper floats out from under a phantom couch to remind me that mediocrity is a pretty lacklustre path to travel.

Contributor: Lara M
Employer: Studentawards Inc.

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universitybound3 wrote:	Brought out a lot of good points, that according with me, when i made the transition from grade 10 to 11! (Y) Posted on Aug 11, 2012 at 10:03
LackOfABetterNameX wrote:	I'm glad that you shared this anecdote. In high school, I never saw anything less than an 80. Ever. With impending doom (aka 'University') looming over my head, I'm absolutely petrified that I'll actually have to work for my marks. This story helped. Posted on Jun 23, 2012 at 03:21
TimV wrote:	@ People saying people in highschool get 97% avgs w/o studying: Either you went to some ghetto highschool OR YOU DID STUDY. Even the smartest of students in gr 12 have to work for a 95+ avg, beacuse NO ONE knows every subject before hand Posted on Mar 08, 2012 at 12:27
cheers123 wrote:	So true, I know exactly how this person feels. Posted on Aug 30, 2011 at 11:17
Mandyfuller wrote:	It is unfortunate that so many have to learn the hard way. I find people that have had to work at getting good marks in HS have the skills to shine at college or university. Posted on Jan 26, 2011 at 03:00

 

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