Finals Week: A Reminder of Why the Fuck You're Here

Firstly, congratulations to my pal Michelle for getting her license!

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Writer’s block is real, and it is alive and well in my blonde little head. I was at a town hall for work today, where Gary Vaynerchuk spoke to a hundred or so of my coworkers and me about his life, how he got to where he is today and the future of the media industry. I did fangirl a bit, although I can’t say I was the girl who literally shot out of her seat for a photo with him.

Gary’s story about being an immigrant with very little growing up resonated with me. Not literally because I’m an immigrant (I’m first-generation), but because of the necessity of working hard for what you have.

For as long as I can remember, I’ve been a straight-A student. I played an instrument for a while, was part of the “gifted and talented program,” and did most extracurriculars you could think of. I was the Golden Child. Then yeah, as you know, The Fall from Grace happened in college and I’ve been on a ~somewhat~ uphill climb. The come up, certainly.

I’m in a good spot professionally. Yet academically, shit could not hit the fan more.

In my first semester at Baruch, I failed a class (a feat I’d never done before nor imagined) and lost my scholarship due to a trash GPA. I also withdrew from a class. If you knew me my first semester, you know exactly why 🤪. My GPA has been embarrassingly low (and has prevented me from applying to programs and internships with GPA requirements) since then. And no, I still don’t study effectively for any classes involving math.

Needless to say, I’ve experienced my fair share of awful academics, which you wouldn’t usually guess given my history. Not a proud point of mine. But given that it’s finals week, I’m writing this post as a reminder to myself of what matters! And it might just be a good reminder to you, too.

Remember what’s important. Remember why you’re doing this to yourself. Remember that the long hours you put into studying now will give you the necessary stepping stone for the career you want in the future. Unless your career is at a trade school and/or you’re in a capability where a degree doesn’t matter, getting a degree is needed.

I hate school. I went from absolutely loving it and doing everything possible for the A to absolutely and utterly despising it and being satisfied with a C. But I’m trying for that passing grade because I know I need it in my career.

If I’m being totally honest, I’d rather work overtime for five years than have to take another business class for a couple of months. I would also rather do anything else than sit in a lecture with required attendance. But I am here, and I am going to push through finals because that’s what I have to do. One semester of finals left in my undergraduate career and on to bigger and better things.

Gary Vee is correct in a lot of ways. Regardless your take on his methodology and teachings, his message is still abundantly clear. You have to put in work to get what you want, and you have to do it with a can-do attitude. No one actually wants to be in a situation where they’re stressed to get a grade that will get lumped into a cumulative grade. We just tough it out because we know its value in the long-term. There’s an end goal, and no matter yours, you know that you have to put in the hard work now to relax later.