A new year, a new start

Summer’s over, and it’s back to the books. More than just an end to warm weather, it’s a chance to refocus and reset. Much like people set resolutions for the new calendar year, it might be worthwhile to consider doing the same for a new academic year.

This is true whether you’re returning to VCU or are here for the first time. For those of you who are freshmen, this is your chance to escape your high school and establish a new reputation independent of your parents. For everyone else, we have our previous semester’s GPA to work with, but there’s always a clean slate for the semester.

VCU doesn’t give B-plusses, so it can be a challenge to maintain a GPA above 3.5 for those of us who get more B’s than A’s. But on the other hand, working that much harder for the A can be that much more rewarding.

Speaking of A’s, again a word to the freshmen – they aren’t just handed out to the teacher’s favorites. You really have to work for an A here, just like at any other college. Unlike what you may have been used to in high school, a 4.0 here really means something, and a greater sense of accomplishment comes with it.

For those of you who have 4.0’s, be proud, cherish your success, and enjoy the benefits of our honors program. For those of us who have all but lost hope of regaining the top average, we can still put in an all-out effort to do the best we can and make sure our average is higher at the end of this semester than last.

As the old saying goes, even a journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step. Or was it eating an elephant one bite at a time? In any case, college is like eating a lot of elephants at once, or taking as many journeys as classes. There is so much to focus on, and so much to distract you.

Good luck with classes this semester, and enjoy the Welcome Week events put on by our own Activities Programming Board.

The key is balance. There’s another saying about the straw that broke the camel’s back. It seems there are enough straws to deal with from classes alone, so I guess the lesson is not to take on too many straws.

Omar Yacoubi may be reached at yacoubioa@vcu.edu.