I may not have been the student with the highest grades in class or received straight A's, but maybe I wasn't supposed to . Coming into this program, I had too much confidence in myself. When my grades weren't as high as expected, I lost confidence and began to doubt my ability to succeed. But when my advisor said those words, I felt like he had confidence in me. It inspired me to prove to myself that I could do better, and I did. It wasn't easy at first, but eventually my grades increased and I started to worry less. The work of course remained difficult, but I learned to adapt. For some this may be considered a life lesson, but I consider it an academic achievement for