Now, I'm a little bit competitive with myself and life everyone else, I want to be the best. But I haven't had that high of a cumulative GPA since I was 19 years old. What I learned in high school was that, while I wanted to be the best, I was a happier person when I was not.
Why? Because when I got low A's and high B's in school (which is not going to get you anywhere near the required Rho Chi GPA), I was also involved in a ton of activities. I learned to be a leader, I worked part time, I had officer positions and volunteered my time to an extent that those Rho Chi people would never dream of doing!
A professor of mine made a comment once to the extent that the B students she has seen are more likely to be better pharmacists than those who get straight A's (not to say that an A student can't be a good pharmacist). But she had witnessed in her students the same thing that I had learned in high school: the B students knew their stuff and yet also had the ability to work with people. You learn more in hands-on activities and in leadership and talking with people and being comfortable around people and confident in yourself. In life you can usually phone a friend if you get really stuck, but your friend can't teach you how to communicate properly with your non-English-speaking patient - only experience can do that.
So I am very happy for the new Rho Chi initiates that were picked yesterday, I wish them good luck on the exam that we have today (you have more to "live up to" than I do :P ), and I am so very glad that I learned to be, and found joy in, being a well-rounded individual who knows how to do more in life than study.
LOW CHI 4 LYFE!
