Applying Yourself

When I was in middle school I was a model student. I actually did my homework. It didn't take much effort for me to get straight A's. Minimal effort in middle school = 4.0 GPA.

If I got something less than 100% on a test it was because I was in a hurry. My test taking strategy has always been Why dwell on it? If you don't know the answer, you don't know the answer.

All in all, middle school was a cake walk. I'm a fast learner. Middle school was easy.

High school, on the other hand, I just quit trying. Not that I couldn't have gotten good grades if I had tried, but I had other priorities. Boys. In middle school I didn't care about boys, mostly because the ten in my class didn't interest me. But in high school, suddenly there were way more boys.

Instead of doing my homework I talked on the phone with a boy. He is to blame for my academic downfall.

I coasted through high school with minimum effort, only doing assignments when absolutely necessary. I aced all the tests, so homework wasn't a priority. Then I graduated. The real world slapped me in the face. I hadn't bothered with thoughts of the future, because most 16 year olds don't care what's gonna happen next week, let alone next year.

I got a job at Wendy's, which I kept for four years. Then I moved on to the City of Benson, where I worked till I had Alana. Then I entered the world of voluntary unemployment, ie stay-at-home mommy. This job is harder than the others, takes more qualifications and doesn't pay me. Its not a permanent position, because someday my kids will go off to kindergarten and leave me here alone. So someday, in the future, I will once again venture into the workplace, outside of my home. Yikes!

I will have to pay taxes and deal with co-workers and shower before noon. None of those things appeal to me.

Next time around though, I will be qualified for a job I actually want to do. I'm not gonna serve hamburgers to lazy people who can't cook their own meals, or take utility payments from old people who complain that the mayor made their gas bill too high.

That's why right now, while I'm in the hybrid world of student/mommy, I have to actually do my homework. And I'm not happy with a 90% on my biology test, I need to get 100%. Because what's the point of doing it if I'm not going to apply myself?