I Had To Confront My Shortcomings In Order To Grow Up

I was 19, in hours a sophomore in college. I needed a tutor for Biology, if not I was going to flunk it. The tutor was a grad student and taught introductory Biology. He told me that placing out of freshman Biology was my problem, AP Biology in high school was a poor substitute for colleges courses. He recommended I drop the course, take Biology 101 the next semester.

I was devastated, that meant I was being held back. I had never failed a course, now he was telling me to give up. I didn't listen, I flunked. Now my GPA was under pressure, and I had to take Bio 101 before taking the course I flunked. Or give up on a Biology degree.

I went back to my tutor, he 'told me so'. I asked him, 'what should I do?' Drop out, take a year off. This time, I did do what he told me. I got a job, and moved in with him, I learned Biology the way our great grandparents did, practice first, then read about it. By the the time I reengaged, he was done with his Master's degree. Life science, I was an expert by then. I went on to study nursing.