Navigating Educational Challenges: A Student’s Journey Through Unforeseen Obstacles
As students, we often envision our academic journey as a steady climb toward success. However, unforeseen circumstances can introduce unexpected hurdles, testing our resilience and adaptability. Today, I want to share a personal experience that highlights these challenges and the emotional impact they can have.
The story begins with an online dual enrollment course in U.S. History that I enrolled in through my school. The class was divided into two segments—early and modern U.S. history—and was structured as two separate courses spanning nine weeks each. Initially, the college provided us with a visiting professor to teach on campus. Unfortunately, his qualifications didn’t quite align with the subject matter; holding a PhD in religion, his teaching often veered off-topic, sometimes leaving us feeling disconnected from the core content. This discontent was so widespread that many students voiced their concerns to school administrators.
After nearly two months, the school presented us with options: transfer to an online version of the course, withdraw entirely, or remain with the current instructor. Interestingly, the students who wished to stay with the on-campus instructor were abruptly asked to switch to the online format after a meeting—an unexpected and abrupt change. I initially opted to switch to a traditional in-person class, but after experiencing a day in that environment, I realized it wasn’t the right fit for me, prompting my switch to the online course.
While I appreciated the flexibility of online learning, the asynchronous nature of the class proved to be demanding, especially considering my personal and mental health struggles. I found it challenging to stay focused at home, and my priority shifted toward math homework and other responsibilities I couldn’t ignore. Most of my coursework was completed at school until I was forced to catch up, and as the semester progressed, many classmates withdrew from the course—some even after the deadline to drop had passed, resulting in W grades on transcripts I couldn’t avoid.
Despite these obstacles, I persevered with the goal of completing the Modern U.S. History course. Unfortunately, I did not succeed in achieving the grade I had hoped for. As of now, I haven’t received my final grade, but I anticipate it could be a B. While a B isn’t a poor grade by any means, it does threaten to lower my GPA—something I’ve worked tirelessly to maintain at a 4.0 throughout high school. This prospect weighs heavily on me, more than I expected, especially since my GPA has been a source