I feel that the only difference between class 11 and class 12 exam is that you go to different schools (centre) and you have a admit card, yet the pressure that comes with it is as useless as studying the data of 2003 for an economics exam or mugging up theory for statistics!
If I were to go back in time and ask my 16-year-old self to choose between scoring 95% with hardly any conceptual clarity, or scoring 80% but with thorough conceptual clarity, I’m sure I’d have chosen the former option because I was a hopeless fanatic for higher marks. That’s only because the mindset of a student appearing for Board exams is “marks are everything.”
However, this ‘everything’ falls short in the future. Take for example a girl who attends the same CA tuition, who had scored 63 percent in her Boards but could answer better a basic accounting question that those who scored a 95 percent.
A second thought at the time of exam prep is: “I’ll be judged forever for my marks!”
If only I could predict that I myself won’t remember the marks I scored in each subject back then, forget about others ‘judging’ me!
The third of course, is "I don’t want to run from the calls of my relatives on the day of results”.
But the reality is, even 90 percent won’t satisfy them because there is always someone who will score better.
A final, most pressing thought – “My Board exam result is going to decide my future.”
If only I knew that my 12th mark sheet in the future is just going to be used for admission formalities. Of course a decent score would land you in a good college; but there’s more to life than that!
So, from ‘marks are everything’ to ‘everything isn't about marks’, I've grown and I've matured.
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