Osaka is so frustrated. . .

[Mangafanatic]

Hey guys,
I probably should have posted about this sooner, but I'm a prideful person, okay!? XD No, it's not really that big a request, but, here's the deal:

Well, I'm in my first semester of college. Fun stuff. As a part of my major, I'm required to take calculus. Not fun stuff. Anways, I've been struggling through all semester, trying to do well in this class. I'm not a math person. I hate math. The only way I scored highly on the ACT was by having exceptionally high scores in the other sections and letting my math score weight the whole thing down. Moving on, my aversion to math has finally come back to get me. I'm taking my Cal. final right now (it's take home), and I'm completely confused. I have no idea what I'm doing and I'm just pretty darn frustrated. I wrote this to Yumie in a PM a few minutes ago:

I'm 99% sure that I failed it. And I don't mean "fail" in the metaphorical sense, like, "Oh, man, I failed that test. I probably got like an 83, or something." I mean, fail, as in "Congratulations, you got a 51." I almost don't even care, though. I'm so sick of dealing with it.

I know this sounds vain, but I've never failed anything in my life. Not in high school, grade school, or elementary school (that I can remember.) Furthermore, I've never had a subject in school that I couldn't excel at if I just gave it enough work. Calculus is the first class I've ever been in that I felt my best wasn't enough to get me an A or a B, and that really scares/frustrates me.

I know it might not be a big deal to some people to get a "C" in a class, and, were I not in the position that I am, I wouldn't care either. But, you see, I'm on a very large academic scholarship that is awarded by the school. Along with this scholarship comes all this pressure to be the example of academic excellence within you major, and my keeping that scholarship is contingent upon my GPA.

So, that all goes to say: I'd appreciate you guy's prayers. I feel sick from worrying about it, bronchitis is going around school, I'll be kicked out of some of my classes for next semester if I can't keep my GPA up, and I'm just ready to go home and sleep.

[Jingo Jaden]

In my prayer.

[Tenshi no Ai]

Math and I are definately not friends either :/ I definately would have failed several grades of it if I didn't get tutoring :/ But high school is a little bit different than college/university (especially with America and when I found out how high the standards are there! Yikes!)

I'll be praying...

[ShiroiHikari]

Well...I'll be praying that God's will be done. If you do happen to get kicked out of your classes, maybe that's Him shutting a door...

[Zarn Ishtare]

I'll pray for you're grade to improve, as well as your patience with yourself. You can only do so much, Osaka, and pushing yourself beyond your means for too long can be stressful. Take it from a guy who knows where you're at.

[Radical Dreamer]

I'll pray for ya! The fact that you're even taking Calculus is more than I could do; heck, I almost failed Algebra 2! XD I understand how things can get really stressful though, so I hope things ease up soon! Also, have you gone to a tutor or anything like that? If not, it might help a little (that is, if you have the time). Anyways, I'll be praying!

[QtheQreater]

Pressure from scholarships...worst thing ever invented for those of us who hate math. I'm right there with you. If I didn't have the school scholarship...well, I'm going to be up to my ears in debt when I get out of school anyway. I assume you're in the same kinda position...

You've got to remember, though, that God will provide another way if this scholarship should fall through. If you think that the university you're at is where He wants you to be, there's thousands of scholarship opportunities out there for those who can write essays and such. I'm going to be looking into those over break. You should too. About those classes that you think you'll be kicked out of...are those honors courses or something?

I'll be praying for you. Hang in there, and don't throw in the towel yet.

[ChristianKitsune]

*has probably failed her elementary algebra final in her first year of college.. ^^; ) I shall pray for you though!

God is in charge!! ^_^

[EireWolf]

I'm praying for you, Osaka. *hugs* Try not to worry; God's got your back.

[Mangafanatic]

About those classes that you think you'll be kicked out of...are those honors courses or something?

Yeah, Honors Western Civ II.

Thanks for the prayers, guys. I really appreciate it!

[Puritan]

I wish you well and I'll pray for you. Though it may not help, most people have trouble with math, you aren't alone in that boat. And I, personally, passed Calc two with at least one exam with less than 50% right (It did get a curve). If you have problems, many other people might have as well, don't give up before the grades come out, you might do alot better than you thought you did.

[SP1]

Calculus is strange, whether you like math or not. If you've never had it before, rest assured it gets more "real" a bit later, it's just all the theoretical groundwork that's harder to get your head around.

So, if you fail it, take it again. Get a tutor, too. Most colleges have some stashed in a closet somewhere. Where I went to school, most all of the freshman class were 4.0 high school students with SAT scores of 1300-1400+. HOWEVER, plenty crashed hard on some of these courses early on. One guy committed suicide rather than tell his parents he failed something, seriously.

Well, as horrible as it seems now, it is just one class, and God is with you, so please don't do anything drastic. And of course, people are praying for you.

[Mr. SmartyPants]

You're in my prayers Osaka. Gogo! <(>o<)b

[Ryupower]

well, I'll be praying. I'm not a math person either but I'd be all excited to do calculus anyways, it'd make me feel kinda nerdy and smart and I like that. XD