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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.
After failing an accounting exam last semester, I called my sister in tears. She immediately changed the subject and asked me if there was a pre-requisite GPA cutoff to get into Heaven. Ever since that conversation, that idea has stayed with me. After any numerical "failure", I check in with myself to see if I'm living my values to a degree that I'm content with. This has helped me claim more joy than seeing a 4.0 on my transcript.
Thank you for a great semester!
While I still struggle every once in a while with this mindset of thinking I lack intelligence, I've worked so hard to retrain myself. It has transformed me. Today, when people ask what I got on the ACT, I ask them why it matters. My intelligence cannot be fully measured by a standardized test. It grows and evolves with me each day. I love what you had to share Professor Pack because I can relate to it so closely. Thank you for being such an incredible teacher with so many life lessons to share. I will remember this class and the lessons you shared.
At times I struggle to maintain an eternal perspective of who I am. Numbers or letter grades don't define you, you define yourself through your character.
I will continue to endeavor in seeing myself through God's eyes and not as a number. Thank you.
Thank you so much for the invitation not to see ourselves and others as merely numbers. I find that I have a much easier time working with numbers than people, which means I have a great tendency to compare. I will now work harder to see myself differently from that.
This message is very important to remember that there is more to life than numbers, money, and GPA. What matters most is the relationships we have and the life we can build if we believe in ourselves the way God believes in us.
I think this message has helped me to realize that there is more to me and more to everyone than their grades, or any other quantitative personal statistic. I do rather well in school, which is something I am proud of. Yet, when I see others with their great athletic, charismatic, or artistic abilities, sometimes my good grades seem a little underwhelming. Sometimes I think my good grades are nothing more than me being good at memorizing things. I say all that because some of the most important things about us can't be quantified. And what is most beautiful is we are all different and we all can benefit from the strengths of other people. It doesn't have to be a competition. What a wonderful world it would be if we enjoyed the strengths of other people and strived to use our strengths to help other people!
Thanks again for the great semester. Best wishes!
Thanks for a wonderful semester. You've been an incredible teacher and I'm grateful for the lessons you've taught me.
Thank you for your message. Recently, I have found it so easy to compare myself to others. I find myself comparing grades, salary, occupation, GPA, friends, looks, vacations, talents, and almost everything else. I noticed that when I perform poorly at something, the feeling of inadequacy I get is much more potent than the feeling of competence when I do something well. The adversary tempts us to compare, compete, and measure our lives against others, eventually leading us all to feel bad. Your message is so much more hopeful and insightful. Some of the happiest people I have ever met in my life might not be considered "cool", "successful", or "popular" because they care more about what God thinks about them than what others do. I want to practice this in my own life.
Thanks for being such a great teacher. Your class was so beneficial to me!
Thank you for sharing this article with me! I tended to look at myself as a number (or rather, a compilation of numbers), and it was really damaging to my confidence and self-esteem when I would compare myself to others. But as long as I rely on what my Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ think of me, I can feel their love for me and see myself as a Child of God with infinite potential. Potential immeasurable by numbers and rulers and worldly metrics or standards.
Also, thank you for being such an amazing professor! I've truly enjoyed taking your class.
Jackson Newman :)
Thank you for the great semester!
Thank you so much for the amazing semester!
Thank you so much for these thoughts. I think it is a great reminder. I feel like so many applications and screenings feel like the "quiz" you gave at the beginning. I feel like I'm just rattling off numbers. I am always so thankful when organizations and people look at others for who they are, not for the numbers that they feel describes them. I loved this class. I feel like this is one of the most applicable classes I have ever taken. Thank you!
Thank you so much for a wonderful semester! I loved having your class this semester!