Column by Gisselle Hernandez, Assistant Features Editor

We often hear the saying: “Don’t expect anything and you’ll never be disappointed.” Or the advice: “Don’t set the standards high, because if you go below them, people will be disappointed in you.”

There isn’t another thought process in the world that would make me more upset.

I can see the reasoning behind people thinking that if people don’t expect much of you, there’s no way you can be a disappointment to them.

There’s always that pressure, especially on college students, that if you made straight A’s all through high school, you’re automatically expected to make those same grades in college.

People have this hunger for approval from society, from their parents and from themselves.

If people say or act like you’re a disappointment just because for once you broke your streak of good grades, slipped out of being the responsible young adult or stopped being the compliant son/daughter, to heck with them.

In the end the only person worth impressing is YOU.

Cut yourself some slack. You can’t get everything done perfectly, but don’t aim low just because you don’t want to fall harder if you aim higher. It’s better to aim high and achieve something you thought you never could before, than to stay low and not know your potential.

I see many students purposely making C’s so their parents never expect more from them and that way if they do make an A, their parents would be proud. Do you know how many A’s you could’ve made if you were actually trying all this time?

And it doesn’t go for academics alone; it goes for everything you do in life. Don’t ignore an opening at your dream job because you think it’s too good for you. Take the chance, and if you don’t get it and feel disappointed for aiming too high, that’s OK. At least you tried; if you hadn’t applied, there would be zero chance of you receiving that job.

Odds are, someday you will get what you aimed for, because you decided to surpass the expectations set by others and yourself.

If others start devaluing you because you didn’t meet their expectations, remove yourself from that environment and surround yourself with those who recognize that you can’t possibly be perfect.

Don’t set the bar low because you fear what others might start expecting from you. Instead, amaze yourself at what you will accomplish by breaking through that glass ceiling. Trust me, once you get what you aimed for, you won’t feel like a disappointment at all.