Most student chooses less harder classes to ensure that they pass and move on, an easy A. But with an easier course you wouldn't get as much out of it as you would a tougher course. It would benefit you more to take a tougher course because it would challenge you more for your own benefit. Tougher classes really make you think and challenge your own beliefs. They get you thinking critically about topics and will only benefit you in the long run. If you take an easy class that you can just breeze through, what are you really getting from it? Nothing.

During my college years I took some courses just for kicks and others to challenge myself. Call it self-punishment or what you will, but I feel I learned more in those courses than I did any others. Those were the classes I remember and made an impact on me. I took an international security course that I had heard from other students was difficult. It was quite a bit of critical thinking and we had to write a paper on a topic that we felt was or would be a threat to international security. I had never spent so much time researching and working on a paper as I did for that class, and our two exams were always only two essay questions. Not only was the material challenging, but the instructor is well. Whatever stance we took on an issue, he would question why we felt that way. He was also an older Russian gentleman who called just about everyone in politics "dumb bastards," but he is one of the instructors I remember the most.

Tougher courses also help you to improve your skills as a student. Your time management and writing skills improve, and future employers will take notice of the courses you took during your academic career, and they really won't think much of English 101 or yoga. Tougher classes will help you to hone your skills and show you where you need tweaking. It would probably one of the best things you could do in college and I guarantee you won't regret it.

Learn more about this author, Cristy Valley.
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