Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash
It’s been a strange time in the last month. We’ve seen some sort of ‘normality’ return with things opening, events starting up again, and the ways people can meet up and gather being extended. Some may say it’s too early; some may think it’s about time. However, other things aren’t getting back to normal, they’re not as clear or as easy, and in the last week we’ve seen one thing in particular which has been confusing, and for some, worrying.
Exam Results.
Now I’m not going to write a full page today going on at you about working hard, and listening to what you’re told because I am sure you’ve heard that enough. However, what I do want to do is encourage you that I am sure whatever work you put in for your exams, it was good enough. Maybe you didn’t receive the results you expected or wanted, but that isn’t where life ends.
I’ve heard a lot of young people lately, mainly around the ages of 16-18, saying ‘I don’t know what I want to do in life’ or ‘I don’t know what job I want to end up in’ and that’s okay. I’m 26 and as much as I love youth work; will I do this for the rest of my life? Will I even still be doing it in the next 10 years? Who knows! But when I did my exams, I definitely wasn’t sure where I wanted to go in life. In fact, my goal was to become a secondary school teacher, a drama teacher to be exact. For GCSE’s I took Drama, History, German and Food Tech, and for my A-Levels I did Drama, Media, DT and Psychology… does that list look like someone who knew where they wanted to head in life? I don’t think so, the only consecutive thing there was Drama, and that’s only because I love it – explaining the drama teacher direction.
Now going back to the week we’ve just seen, the receiving of results wasn’t in the usual way we would see. Exams weren’t sat, not in the normal way anyway, and the decision of how the pupils would receive their results didn’t change just once but twice. I can’t begin to imagine the stress that may have come with not only receiving results, as well as not knowing when or how you will receive results, but you did it! You made it through the toughest school year which we’ve seen in a very long time.
Whatever next steps you take, remember that the results you may have received do not change you as a person. The determination and work that you put into whatever you go on to do is what helps you on the way, not a piece of paper with a number or a letter on. Exams help, I’m not slating them, and you should definitely try your best because that’s all anyone can ask of you but what I am saying is that it’s not the only way! There are other ways you can get to where you want to be. Hard work, determination and a trust that you can do it are 3 key vital elements to have within yourself.
If my future was determined just by my performance on a standardized test, I wouldn’t be here. I guarantee you that.
Michelle Obama
Work hard, try your best, but if you don’t or didn’t get the results you wanted, don’t give up. You can do it.
- Antony.
This week’s resource…
Blog: When I Grow Up
About: Here is one of our past blogs where I talk about my career and how I got to where I am now. Why not go and have a read?
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