This week I got a C on my online psychology exam.

Not exactly failing, but if you know me you know that’s pretty abnormal… and that it would be highly likely for me to have a mental breakdown at that grade.

But REJOICE friends. I am healed. I didn’t have a breakdown.

I’ll admit I was pissed at first. I just don’t get C’s. I get A’s, and that’s the way it’s been since high school. That is what I’m used to.

Nonetheless, I got a C. So the next week I read the chapter more carefully and… drumroll please……

I GOT A B.

Most of my friends would probably still think I’d be pissed. But to my surprise, I wasn’t. I really, truly wasn’t.

I was happy. 

Of course I want an A, but as bratty as this sounds, I got used to getting A’s. It wasn’t an accomplishment, it was just what happened. I was an A student.

So if you can imagine, I’d get an A and feel nothing, but I’d get a B and feel like a total failure.

I was kind of just setting myself up for disappointment because I couldn’t improve, I could only get worse.

So, do you get it now?

Sure, I didn’t get an A on my psychology exam, but from exam 1 to exam 2, I went from a C to a B.

I improved!

It was funny because I got the B and immediately I thought – Oh thank God not a C! But then I realized – Wow, actually 84 is a lot better than 72. 

Within one week, I made a major improvement on my scores.

So I’m happy right now for two reasons. One, I improved my score, and two, I don’t feel like a failure for not getting an A.

I don’t feel so much pressure anymore, and it’s such a relief.