Man, Do I NEED an A!
1508 words by njoliver
Well, as for my grade, of course I want an A, but it may not be deserved. I had a great time learning more about the Bible, which is why I participated in class discussion on a frequent basis. I also had a good time working on my project. I felt as though this project would be beneficial to the world in some sort of fashion because I am so passionate about teaching others about chemistry and the profound effects its study has on the various aspects of life. I hope to continue my project and enlighten other students. I know that the student that I worked with gained much knowledge from my experiences with chemistry. I enjoyed myself as well.
I hope that my project continues in the future on a larger scale because I understand that many young people do not have an interest in science, particularly minorities. I want to make a statement and change the way people think about science overall. I want people to understand that the study of it is vital to the understanding of ourselves, the world, and the rest of the universe. It is a mass of unknown possibilities just waiting to be explored. There is always something new to learn, to see, and to research in the sciences. Most of all, I want students to know that it is possible to excel in science and in math. It is just a matter of keeping confidence in oneself and striving to reach above and beyond the usual expectations. I know that instilling this concept within young minds is not only important in the sciences, but also in life and whatever a student may try to achieve in the future. There is absolutely no possible way to achieve greatness without a strong value of pride within one’s soul. I feel that it is extremely important for my project to focus on women more intensely as well. Overall, a woman in the sciences is almost nonexistent because many do not feel that they can compete within the general context of a man being a scientist. These boundaries should be broken in every possible way. It is not, nor will it ever, be a time when a woman cannot compete with a man, especially in the intellectual sense. We should all be considered equals regardless. I know that as a young woman myself, I have come to the consensus that I can achieve all that my heart desires and if someone, anyone, comes in my way, I will do my best to knock those walls down. If I remember correctly, the statistics for women in the sciences is about as low as the statistics given for minorities in the sciences, possibly even lower. To me, this is a sad state of affairs. It seems as though we have not fully come out of the “homemaker” days of the early to middle twentieth century when men did the work and took care of the home. Today, it is different because most women work everyday like their male counterparts and have to strive to help provide for the family as well. Therefore, this gives even more evidence that women need to instill confidence within themselves to go out into the work force. Women deserve to be treated as equally as everyone else and with the idea that pride in oneself will back them up, they will not break to the stresses and pressures of a misogynic work place. It simply is not fair and I will try to tell those who become involved in my project that such sexist actions will not be tolerated. It is all about how one carries themselves – either with pride or pessimism. This is what makes an influential individual in the future.
In addition, my project represents the same principles as the Xavier University mission statement. As I have stated before, I know that it is important to help create a more “just and humane society,” which is evident through my intense focus on minorities and women to help them gain a higher place within the overall societal realm. Therefore, I know that this project will help students to become leaders to others, thus giving them the pride that is needed in such an extreme world. A project such as the one I am conducting will help students think critically about any situation. They will be prepared to control any problem they may encounter.
With the same fervor that I completed this project, I truly feel as though my grade should reflect that in a similar manner. True enough, I was unable to fully finish my blogs in a timely manner, I did my best to attend class regularly, participate in class discussion, and give suggestions about what changes could be made in the world. I have undergone some extenuating circumstances this semester, circumstances that I would not normally go through. I feel as though I am a good student; I try my best to get very high grades and excel in school. In fact, school is very important to me. As I have mentioned before, this same idea of doing the best in school is something that I feel needs to be instilled in other young people. Therefore, my grade in this class should reflect, at least, my attempt at trying to do well. I have enjoyed learning about the Bible, learning about myself, and even instituting a project that will be beneficial to others in the future. I am so very glad that I have gotten the opportunities that have put me here, at Xavier University. These opportunities have made me a better person throughout. It is so important for me to share these opportunities with others as well. I was told once that opportunity will come and those who try to rob from you or stir them from you will be taken away. That statement is very true. I have endured a very tiring and rough semester with all the tears in the world to share, but that does not stop me from trying to do well at Xavier. I know that more opportunities will come for me because I work hard at what I do and I am a dedicated individual. With this semester being complete, nothing in the world can stop me from excelling.
But, the issue is, I still need to give myself a grade for this class. I have provided all of the information for my case. At least you know that I want and I figure I deserve a good grade in this class. But, where does one draw the line? Everyone knows that good grades do not come easily. In fact, they are so difficult to come by sometimes that people shed tears, lose weight, and endure other bodily malfunction. I just know that I have worked diligently. That is simply all I can say for myself. I presume that makes the difference between an A or a B. I was just thinking to myself how easy it was to come up with a project to change the world and how difficult it is for me to choose a grade for myself. That statement almost does not make sense. I am confident enough within myself to know that I think I have done well, but unsure of the fact that I have to choose a grade. Well, going by the rubric, or grading scale, I would have to agree that people liked my project overall. I do have a firm understanding of lectures, readings, and additional discussion topics as well. The project also was along the same lines of the Xavier Mission, which was illustrated above. The largest issue here are the blogs. I simply did not write all of them as needed. The caveat to that statement is that in the blogs that I did post, they were full, in depth, and illustrated my interest in the class. These things should account for some points as well counted toward my grade.
I cannot say enough that I worked hard. I worked so hard that I am still trying to figure out how I am going to take care of this word count for these last few words. Even with these words, I still have no regrets. I cannot complain. I am really just glad that this semester, post Katrina is over. With the short amount of time that we had to take care of our school business, that made it truly difficult to complete all of the work I needed to complete. I think everyone is tired now because everything was rushed this semester. Even the semester break is rushed. There is only one week and a half to recuperate after a grueling semester. I think this all has taught us a lesson, however. We have to be grateful for the fact that we at least had a school to come back to and were able to start school in a timely manner.