Youth Incorporated Magazine

Another year has passed, and the most dreaded time of the year has arrived – at least for students.

Exam Results. Two words enough to make any student anxious. The time of the year when distant relatives suddenly care about you, ‘Sharmaji ka beta’ is all the rage, and your friends awkwardly try to ignore the elephant in the room – your results.

We have heard countless stories of witless wonders rising from the bottom to getting a 96% and star students topping the school, and your own clever cousins making the family proud. Undeniably, it is terribly hard not to feel anxious with so much competition around, even within your own friends and family. Moreover, it can be incredibly disappointing to feel like you didn’t do as well as everybody else did. Here we explain to you why being disappointed is okay, and how to deal with it.

1. Accept your disappointment

On getting a poor exam result, let yourself feel disappointed, but only for a while. Don’t dwell on your emotions. Instead, accept them as they come and let them go with equal grace. Agreeably, this is easier said than done. It is certainly hard to let go of your emotions. We tend to hold on to our emotions, especially the negative ones. Once you accept your disappointment, you will find a way to overcome it

2. Do not be ashamed of yourself

Despite the faux pity that anyone (neighbours and gossip-deprived aunties alike) might throw at you, don’t be ashamed of your result. Grades do not define who you are. Your grades are not the crux of your identity. Don’t feel ashamed of letting people know your grades, and most importantly, don’t let what people say about you affect you.

3. It’s not the end of the world

As mentioned earlier, your grades don’t define who you are. Look at the bigger picture. See this as a small setback to achieving your dreams. Do NOT give up on your ambitions because of one grade. Do not deem it impossible. Keep yourself grounded and don’t lose hope. Past this, there will be more opportunities, and more chances to do better.

4. Reflect on yourself

You know this isn’t the best you could’ve done. Or is it? It is important to know that sometimes, exams just aren’t for everyone. That isn’t an excuse to brush off your poor grades, though. Think about your performance, ponder over areas for improvement, and think about if you really tried your hardest, and if your performance upsets you simply because others fared better. Although it may be hard to avoid competition given the set-up of our dog-eat-dog educational system and our own family’s expectation, it’s important to realize that your real competition lies within yourself. The clichéd line holds some value -“your only competition, and your only obstacle is you.”

5. Take it seriously

So often, students dismiss their poor grades and excuse it on circumstance. Worse, upon receiving a poor result, students lose their will to follow their dreams and give in to their emotions. Unsurprisingly, at the peak of confusing teenage emotions, this gives rise to problems relating to consumption of alcohol or substance abuse very early on in the student’s life, and once off track, it’s so much harder to get back on the rails. Hold your ground, and look at your result as a way to improve. Although grades are not everything, they do matter and you must understand that you will have to work a little bit harder now to get where you want.

6. Get help

If feelings of hopelessness persist for over a month or seem to worsen and affect other areas of your life, it may be time to get professional help. Mental health is just as important as physical health and must be treated accordingly. Recognize the telltale symptoms of depression and anxiety and get help for it. It’s never too late to get help – but the sooner the better.