Lasting Impressions

Kelly: Again, this blog post is sparked by another interesting conversation that we had at the dinner table tonight. Holly will explain more about her part, but I will disclose my portion of this blog. The conversation started about professors...ironically. I will start by saying this: I am not a straight A student. I try to be, but I am a firm believer in doing the best I can without going insane in the process. However, this is true: I will not half-ass ANYTHING. I give 110% in everything that I do; the grades sometimes do not reflect that (very average grades, but it's still my best). Hey, it's how I was raised!

But this is the conclusion that I have come to; I may not make the best grades. This much is true though; though I have never been told directly, I know that I have impacted some of my professors. And I didn't have to know the answer to every question that was asked or ace every test...simple. BE YOURSELF. I've been myself and nothing more. And trust me, people WILL notice. I am living proof!

Holly: That's one of the main things that really ticks me off about graduate/professional schools and the like: there is so much stigma on GPA and grades, when, in all honesty, grades do not really tell you a cotton-pickin' thing about a person's character.  And a person's character stands out so much more than a bunch of letters and numbers on a piece of paper.  That's just my opinion, anyway.

I'll make a set of issues very, very short and just say that I work for an incredible person who is going through a lot of junk right now.  But despite all the junk, today I heard him tell the other student I work with and myself that we make him feel better.  We, just two students who were hired to work for him and his class just because we had the time free in our schedules this semester, make him feel better!  I don't really know how to describe the feeling you get when you see that you do make a difference, but it's indescribably one of the most fulfilling experiences of my college career.  And all I do is show up once a week and help  out with the lab.  That's it.

I, as well as Kelly, have been told by numerous people on campus that we will be greatly missed after our time at Berea ends.  Like Kelly, I don't make straight A's. Most of the time I don't even make A's and B's.  I don't know all the answers to all the test questions, nor do I claim to.  But you know what? I show up.  I try hard,  And I have a VERY caring heart for people, and when I see someone going through a rough time I go out of my way to be available and try to help in any way possible.  I think, in this day and age, that's really the very least that we can do for the people in our lives who do so much.