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What year were you born?
What number are you in your family?
What was your high school GPA?
What is your current GPA?
How tall are you in inches?
Estimate your I.Q.
What year did you graduate from high school?
What year will you graduate from college?
How old are you in months?
How many countries have you visited?
How much money do you expect to earn in your lifetime?
How many part-time jobs have you had?
How many people tell you they love you?
How fast can you run a mile?
How many minutes do you exercise a week?
How much are you worth?
Almost immediately I start to get questions.
"Is it okay if I just estimate? I don't know exactly how tall I am."
"What is the average I.Q.? I'll just put that because I have no idea what mine is."
"Do you mean just me, or how much money I think my husband will make in a lifetime as well?"
"Do I really have to report how many people love me, or can I just say 'many'?"
My answers are frustratingly vague.
"Just do your best."
"Whatever you think it should be."
It usually takes about 5 to 10 minutes for them to realize that it isn't actually a quiz.
After they've had time to complete the quiz, I have them fold the paper in half lengthwise so that only the answers are showing.
"Now I'm not going to do this, but imagine if I were to collect all these papers, mix them up, and then pass them back. Your job would be to return the paper you receive to its rightful owner by only looking at the numbers. Could you do it?"
The students always shake their heads.
And then I ask them an important question. "Why?"
Why are we not able to identify each other purely by numbers? Here are typical responses:
"Because I don't know what other people's GPAs are."
"These numbers don't mean anything if I don't know what the units are."
"When I look at other people, I don't think of them in these terms."
And that's when I tell them about scales and rulers.
Numbers only have value when you compare it to another number.
Are you short? Are you tall? It depends on what the average height is.
Are you dumb? Are you smart? It depends on what colleges are asking for in their college applications.
During the high school and college years, we tend to get so used to being compared to each other using numerical values. We stress about our GPA, ACT, scores at the last game, and scores at our last competition. What did we rank? What was the average? Did we win? Did we lose? Were we good enough?And that's when I remind them of an important fact that is so easy to forget. God and His Son don't see us as a number. They don't rank us. They don't rate us. They don't compare us to each other. They just love us.
Then I write a number on the white board. Here's the number.
3.02
I ask them to guess what that number is. Most are able to figure out that it's a GPA but that's all. And then I tell them.
It is a GPA. My undergraduate GPA.
It is a GPA. My undergraduate GPA.
That's right, I graduated with barely a 3.0 from college. I tell them when I walked across that stage to get my diploma, I thought I was a dumb student. I didn't see myself as one of the smart ones. I wanted to go to graduate school, but graduate schools don't accept dumb students like me.
But Heavenly Father didn't see me that way. He just saw a person who was His daughter, and He loved me. It took some time, but slowly I was able to start to see a glimpse of that person too.
Seventeen years later, I was accepted into graduate school.
At first I felt like I was the stupidest person in the room because I was sure I had the lowest undergraduate GPA.
Over time I came to realize that I had just as much to offer as anyone else in the program.
I began to see what I am really worth.
At first I felt like I was the stupidest person in the room because I was sure I had the lowest undergraduate GPA.
Over time I came to realize that I had just as much to offer as anyone else in the program.
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| Dressing up with the women in the program |
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| Visiting an orphanage in Ghana |
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| Meeting one of the first LDS members in Ghana |
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| My favorite study group |
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| Social Venture Competition Team |
I began to see what I am really worth.
And it isn't a number.
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Comments
This is the perfect way to end a pretty tough semester! I fall into the pit of misunderstanding my own worth, especially as a student. It is comforting to read your experience with very real feelings that I feel so often. As I approach my own undergrad graduation, feeling unsure what I have actually learned at my time at BYU I know for certain that I will remember your class not only for the skills, but for this experience that you shared.
Thank you so much for ending the semester strong Professor Pack.
Kindly,
Your Student – Taylor Child
Especially not being a business mind (to be honest I kind of despise the business stuff), I felt numerous times this semester that I was in way over my head with this class, but I appreciate the encouragement that you so readily and sincerely offered. I doubt I did anything to be memorable as a student, but I hope my thanks can at least be remembered as part of a much larger whole of lives you have been willing to touch. Thank you for putting up with me, and thank you for teaching how to gather light and not just numbers and facts.
I could not think of a better way to end the semester than with this short "assignment." With finals coming up and final projects due soon, taking a second to read this article you wrote about how numbers not defining you allowed me to take a deep breath and remember what is important in life. We are more than just our grades, our gpa, our weight, etc. We are complex and unique individuals that all have something so great to offer. God gave each and every one of us talents that make us who we are, not what grades we get on our transcript.
Thank you so much for this reminder. With all the stress of grades and tests that are coming up as the semester ends, I tend to forget that my grades don't define who I am. I am reassured knowing that before I am a student, I am a person, a sister, a daughter, and a friend whose worth is not defined by points, scores, or scales.
This post reminds me of the story of Punchinello. The story takes place in a city of puppets who are defined by the number of dots or stars they are given by each other. Our grades, heights, and records can be these dots or stars that we allow ourselves or others to label us with. Eventually, in the story, the puppet Punchinello learns how to remove these labels; he must remember his maker and forget the judgments and comparisons made by others and himself. And that is some great advice.
-Ben Hayden
Thank you for your inspiring message and the reminder to us all that our GPA, or any number for that matter, doesn't determine our worth. When this message comes from a BYU professor, the meaning and impact are so much more profound. Thank you for all your support and help this semester. You have made MCOMM an enjoyable and memorable experience.
I really appreciate the reminder to focus on the way the Savior values me. Focusing on how the savior sees me helps me to better see my own value and my own potential. Thank you so much for this Professor Pack!
Ellie Hughes
Thank you for this class and for this final lesson.