Reader's Email Question: "why should I care about my high school grades?"...Answered!

The other day, I was going through my emails and I received a question from a high school student (who chose to stay anonymous knowing that her question would end up here) who happened to stumble upon my blog. She stated that she enjoyed reading some of my posts about scholarships, and especially the one about making money while in university.

But then, she said...

"I'm in grade 10. I have no clue what to do with myself, and I just can't seem to wrap my brain around why I should care about my grades when I'm 2 years away from graduating. So tell me, why should I care about my grades? I'm in grade 10 and I just want to have fun! Grade 12 is where it's at."

My response to her was along the lines of the following...

Hello dear (sender's name),
I understand exactly how you feel about high school, and not knowing what you will do for the rest of your life. It is a common thing that almost all young people worry about.

However, I can tell you this. Worrying about what you will do in the future will not bring you the success that you are hoping for. For now, focus on doing the best that you can while you are in Grade 10, and young and have a long road ahead of you. Do not take this as "advice to not care about your future", but you have to know how to balance between "caring vs. worrying yourself to death".

While in high school, you have to care enough about what you are doing so that whatever you choose to do after graduation becomes more of a choice, rather than "Oh...darn, I did terrible in school, couldn't get into university, and now I'm stuck working this minimal wage job that I did not choose". I am not saying that if you do bad in school that you won't be successful, but I AM saying that your chances of success decrease the worse you do at school.

And finally, the long awaited answer to your very last question about why high school grades matter, even early on. Considering that most universities primarily look at your grade 12 marks, I can see why you would be asking this. However, a habit is a habit. If you get into the habit of being organized, getting your homework done and having a good work ethic while you are in grade 10 (or younger), then you are more likely to carry those good habits with you to university and into the workplace. In addition, some of the higher caliber universities DO look at your grade 10, 11 and 12 marks, especially when they see your transcripts. It is better to be safe than sorry. :)
Thank you for your question, and I will you all the best in all your endeavors!

That's kind of interesting for me to get readers' questions. I love to answer them! :)
So, if you have a question you can email yhempler@gmail.com or simply post a comment here. Please state if you would like to be anonymous, since I want to protect the privacy of my readers.