Attending a university is a stressful event in itself. If a person happens to fail a course, come down with a grade- altering illness or something else that may put a damper on his or her plans for good grades and that high GPA we all strive for, there will come a time where quitting school is on your mind.
I’ve been there. Let’s go all the way back to 2009. I was a freshman, thought I knew it all and skipped class because they were “necessary,” or so someone told me. I skipped my way to an F in calculus. I skipped my way to a threat from my mother that I know she would live up to: “If this happens again, don’t plan on going back to Longwood unless you can pay for it yourself.” She doesn’t play around. Anyway, she gave me an ultimatum that I chose to accept. I haven’t received less than a B since that horrid semester.
I can remember sitting in my bedroom sophomore year with my roommate, both of us emptying our tear ducts, me wanting to transfer and her quit school all together. Looking back, we’re both glad we didn’t transfer or quit. We needed each others’ friendship to keep going with the year and we both got good grades after our mini-meltdowns.
I posed the following question to other students at Longwood: What keeps you motivated to stay in school after something bad has happened? The answers I received were vast and as different as each individual at this university.
Justin, a junior, stated that he “continued on at Longwood after failing the same course twice because the school was willing to give [him] another chance to get things right.” He did get them right, of course. Failing courses can be devastating, but the fact that Longwood gives students five chances to get it right is interesting, to say the least. Money is money, I guess.
Malina, a senior, commented, “Whenever I want to change my major or give up on college in general, I picture my mom’s face in two ways. First, when I tell her that I’m quitting school with a year left. Second, when I tell her that I’ve been struggling in classes and came out on top with a degree in the field that I love. I always choose to go with the second one. My mom’s the most important person in my life and quitting school because I don’t have the motivation to study a little harder or write those essays a few days in advance just won’t suffice. I can’t allow my mother to be disappointed in me for this reason.”
Caitlin, a senior, stated, “I’ve wanted to quit, but I’m not even from the state of Virginia, so to tell my parents that I’ve wasted three years of out of state tuition isn’t even worth it. I would never live that down, and I’d have to pay my parents back every cent they’ve paid toward my education. The end result is more important than the struggles within these four years.”
EJ, a senior, had a different take on the subject. “I’ve been struggling with my health for months now. I’ve had every opportunity to quit all of my extracurricular activities and Longwood in general, but I haven’t. Why? Good question.
Everyone told me that I should take it easy, but that’s not me. I’ve cut back on the things that I’ve been doing and focusing my energy on getting better and getting the good grades that I’ve worked so hard for. Quitting is too easy; when you keep going despite all odds is when you truly become stronger.”
The inner struggle of wanting to stay in school and wanting to quit school is important for a person to come to terms with. There are many reasons for wanting or needing to put school on hold for a while. Two years ago, I wanted to transfer closer to my hometown because I missed my great dane puppy too much. Of course, that argument did not win and I continue on the same trek to graduation as the rest of my fellow seniors.
I’m sure we’ve all wanted to just give up, go home and potato it up on our parents’ couches, but we haven’t. Look at all we’ve overcome by staying in school. You constantly meet new people, make life long connections with a possible future employer or just simply make friendships that will last longer than expected.
Motivations to stay in school range for each person and that’s the way it should be. None of us have the same reasons for attending Longwood in the first place, so why should our reason to stay here for four years be the same? It shouldn’t. Each student must figure out the “why” on their own, because your reason for continuing to take classes at Longwood is going to be much different from mine.
