Average Disappointment

College has academically humbled me.

In high school, I would churn out A's effortlessly, never expecting anything less. My transcript was virtually immaculate save the B in sophomore year geometry. But now, an A is rare, a B omnipresent, a C sporadic. Excellence is no longer effortless; it's impossible.

Perhaps that is an exaggeration. I did manage to earn two A's last semester, the firsts of my college career. But I still don't understand what professors look for. What are the products and behaviors of an A student? Why is it easier for others and not for me?

Have you ever handed in an assignment, confident in your hard work, excited to reap your rewards, but then the graded assignment, once returned, breaks you heart, kills your ego, induces a tear?

That happened to me today. The professor did warn, in the beginning of the class, that our goal should be to improve as the semester goes by--nobody will ever receive an A on their first assignment. It makes me think: did I really deserve this C or is it a rite of passage?