That all being said--I *did* eventually figure it out, once I got a 2.0 GPA my first year in college and totally freaked out. I'm still not amazing at dealing with frustration, but I can do it when I need to. And, I can make myself work when it's required, though I do still procrastinate. And, I'm pretty successful in my chosen field, well-liked by my colleagues, respected by my boss, good at what I do. (AND--beyond all that, I'm really happy with my life--my work, my family, my home... which really, isn't that what we want for our kids?)
My outcome is whatever the opposite of staceychev's outcome is.
My college GPA shows a *very attractive* straight line down from a 3.75 first semester, which also caused me to totally freak out. Fortunately, I was able to freak out very effectively and self-sabotaged down to a 1.75 one of my last semesters, with a number of Withdraw-failure and F's (I just had to obtain and look at my transcripts lately when I asked myself - hmm, I wonder if I could go to med school, so this is quite fresh in my memory).
More specifically, it caused me to give up, as I was no longer able to get a 4.0, so was there even a point to college anymore?
I mean, if you can't get a 4.0, aren't you already dead and haven't you *already failed*?
My outcome has been whatever the opposite of *staceychev's* outcome is (permanent teenage angst and existential despair?).
So, the moral of the story is to learn that failure isn't equivalent of death and that it's best to learn this early in life rather than when you are a practicing attorney.
