It would be an understatement to say that it is an important today. The day where the buckets of our sweat, blood and tears resulted in a meagre two to five lines of text and a final number representing your achievement. Many of us are elated, extraordinarily excited with our scores and rightfully so. You've worked hard for it and you deserve it, every drop of glory and pride that comes from it.
What I want to focus on, however, are the people who, despite their substantial effort, did not manage to pull their expected or dream study scores. I myself am one of you.
I checked my score with considerable anticipation, having gone through what many call an 'all-nighter', believing that I was about to receive a desirable score. Unfortunately, it didn't turn out to be so. Not only did I end up with an unexpected score, but it was a score that I used to laugh at and scorn at.
I am sure that a considerable number of us share the same feeling as me, the disappointment still ringing through our ears, the pain of the little black number still etched inside our brain.Do not, never, ever ignore the feelings that you're feeling. Let them out. Cry, if you need to. Collapse on your bed, if you need to. One of the worst things people do to themselves is bottle up their feelings, trying to dismiss it. Let it out, let it all out. While this is definitely a painful experience, it is a welcomed one.
Why?
If we just take our minds off our score and the potential implications of our score, we can learn a significant number of lessons from this experience. Bear in mind I'm not one of those 99.90/99.95 students, but I just want to open up and relate to a lot of us who are undergoing similar pain and difficulty, and also perhaps to those students in future years who are devastated about their exam results.
1. Motivation. In receiving a sub-standard study score, I realised that my score was a complete drop off in comparison to a lot of equally skilled friends. It pains me, yes, but it also establishes the fact that I didn't work as hard as I could've this year (silly mistakes, sure, but I definitely could've worked harder at some point this year, and i'm sure you can think of one and relate too). Others who worked hard were subsequently rewarded, and again, the feeling that we might've been "scammed" by the exam because you had completed 50 or 80 trial exams but fell short at the last hurdle may linger, but this is just a learning curve for us. For me personally, I'm probably going to redo one of my subjects, and I can certainly say that the 50+ trial exams that I did in the lead up to this exam was definitely not wasted, because they all contribute to my knowledge base in the end.
2. Open ourselves to the fact that there is still a chance to redeem ourselves. Many of you might be playing on ATARcalc at the moment, and if you haven't, it's worth a look (don't spend too much time on there, it's the work and effort that's necessary). No matter how poorly we performed this year, any ATAR is achievable. Yes, we can still get a 99.95! The sole barrier, the sole enemy that is between us and our dream goal is ourselves. For the people that have received their ATAR, no, this is not the end! In University, ATAR contribute barely anything at all and again, it can feel as if you're back to square one.
3. Fix your mistakes. For all of us, there was something that screwed us up, at one point or another. For some of us, we may have discovered it before today, for me personally it was my exam nerves and carelessness in Exam 1 that cost me a lot of ground. For others, we may discover it only when we inspect our scripts. It may be carelessness, or it may be a lack of knowledge. All of these issues can be addressed by us, and we can make it happen. By eliminating these mistakes, we are ultimately toughening up our own arsenal and thoroughly equipping ourselves for the redemption next year.
4. Academics is not everything. This is a sort of controversial issue, but one that has to be addressed nevertheless. Academics is a very important part of our lives, but it is not everything! There are numerous people throughout society that have achieved their life goals without having to rock up with a high ATAR or a study score of 50 in their chosen profession. VCE is a journey where we should embrace it fully and seek to uncover the treasures beneath, the life lessons that we can apply throughout our entire life.
5.Grants us time to reflect upon how badly we want to succeed in VCE. I am sure that most of the people who are reading this right now have been thoroughly affected by their substandard results, and I am certain that we all want to improve ourselves. We still have a whole 6 weeks until term starts (conservatively speaking). Over 40 days of hard work can transform us, it can give us the stable foundation that we need to excel next year. Make it happen.
So why am I writing this?
Because I've suffered through the trauma of pre-results and that huge, sinking feeling in my stomach as I opened my results today. Everyone has different expectations, and for me, my scores did not reflect my capability. I want to create a post that will not only help all of us who are also feeling a bit down, but also serve as a permanent reminder to me, to my exploits and my hard work throughout all of next year, reminding me of what I commit myself to. We may be competitors, but I do not endorse the 'tall poppy syndrome'. In fact, we should all work at our very best throughout the next year, redeem ourselves, and show all the people that look down on us what we are capable of. Hopefully, our results can also serve as a testament to how great we can really be. We can make it happen. We will make it happen. Let's do it, fellow disappointed students, let's do it.
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