Most students are going through exams, and others are academically pressured in one way or the other. While our performance might have been awesome, satisfactory or even not as per our preparations or expectations, we should not get disheartened. It is important to understand that what happens during your school years is only one small part of your life. However, it is what happens later that is when real life really begins.
It is a pathetic fact that conventional education is producing test takers, not thinkers and our academic teaching doesn’t prepare us for Life. Research shows that some of the least engaged students are the highest achievers and many of the world’s greatest people are mediocre performers, failures or even school dropouts.
So a student might be bored and unmotivated in class and not an A-student, but once he or she discovers something that catches their interest, he or she will becomes a resounding success.
This does not mean, however, that we can forget about grades and go with the flow throughout school. Grades still matter. They’re a necessary part of education but remember that exam results and marks don’t define your life — it is only you who define that.
Do not let an exam or its result make you feel that your future is doomed. There are all kinds of opportunities out there: study, work, or do any other thing you like, irrespective of what you choose, you will grow. Eventually in life, nobody will look back and ask you how many marks you scored in your exams because it simply doesn’t matter!
It is only till the end of school and college life that these marks make some sort of difference to your life, but beyond that, who you are and what you are capable of becoming is what defines your life.
— The reader is a student based in Sharjah
