I failed 6 of 8 classes in my first year of college, barely passing the other two.

That year was important in two ways.

First, I discovered coding and realized it was what I wanted to do. I had to go the wrong way to find the right one.

Second, I got all my big "college fumbles" out of the way.

The next year, I changed majors. The experience gave me an edge over new undergrads who were still figuring out college, so I started getting excellent grades.

I maintained my grades over the next four years, which led to a fellowship to pursue a PhD in the US and, downstream of that, eventually write BCtCI.

I'm glad I didn't even get mediocre grades that year, because then I might have stuck with my first major and half-assed through all of it.