The most important time when I have had to change or modify my behavior came some time after my father became ill, which left me to help support the family income. These circumstances led me to get a lower GPA in school during my earlier years – I had a 3.0 in the time leading up to my senior year of college. This was due to the extra hours I had to put in to my father’s tire shop; by spending that time working, my studies suffered. I did not have enough time to put in the study time that I required to get the marks I wanted on my tests. However, once my father’s condition improved, I knew I needed to make some changes to my behavior in order to repair my GPA as best I could.
Next, I learned to get extra help. I found classmates and friends of mine who were knowledgeable in these subjects to help me with any problems I was having. I made sure to be open and communicative with my instructors; I overcame my fear of looking dumb with the knowledge that I was merely learning more directly from them. I took advantage of writing centers and teaching assistants wherever I could, figuring out what I was misunderstanding, using this extra time I had to giving myself the best chance at a better GPA. In the end, I graduated my 4th year with a 3.53 GPA, a substantial improvement given my circumstances.
After that situation, I feel as though there are many lessons to take from it. The most important one would most certainly be to manage one’s time effectively; when you have a large number of tasks to juggle, you must do whatever you can to put them in order of priority. This way, the most important things get the most attention. I learned to improve my study skills, and allocated free time to needed tasks if I have to. I also learned to ask for help whenever I need it, and to admit when I do. These skills and more will help me in my goal to gain a Doctor of Pharmacy, and I would not be the same person today without the obstacles I had to overcome.
