Improvement: What does it mean to you?

 Look up the word "improvement"on Google, and this is what you'll get: A definition, and over five million search results. For my own search, I also had ten "personal" results. One of them was an improvement post put out by YAFCA, and the others were either from friends in the online and local community, or from various products and services I use or care about.
The reason I was curious about the topic of improvement is because lately I feel like I have been doing a lot of this in my own life.
 The funny thing is that nothing at all has changed yet in my life. Things are by in large identical now to the way they were a few months ago - business as usual. So what, then has improved?
Well I'm glad you asked. It's my attitude. Although all my life I have been taught, and generally have had a good attitude... that was all I strove to have. Sure, a good attitude is what they tell you to have in school, and on the sports teams most of us grew up playing on. And a good attitude about things goes well with others. Having a good attitude will set you apart from those who are negative or pessimistic about the situations they encounter as they navigate life.
But what about having the best possible attitude about life that you possibly can? I mean really, would you rather have good grades, or great ones?
I'd rather have great ones. Funny thing is, when it comes to academics, I am open to admitting that it's honestly not my strong suit. I am admittedly averse to structured learning, especially in a classroom environment. I am much more inclined to soaking up a new topic I stumbled upon myself, and decided to learn through online research, usually with something like Wikipedia,