This is for anyone out there whose results weren’t what they were wanting today.
Today is a big day.
Such a crazy year to have big hurdles to jump over too. Today marks some huge celebrations for so many of you.
We are so thrilled for you all, so much excitement and new challenges ahead. For some, it is not going to be such good news and and we really feel for you.
28 years ago receiving my A level results was a day I will never forget.
Compared to these days, I didn’t even need particularly hard grades to get into Medical School but, I was one grade out. The fact that the results were handed to me by a teacher who I knew didn’t feel I was capable of doing well enough in my exams to get through, added insult to injury.
He was right.
I wasn’t capable.
I wasn’t good enough.
He was right all along.
I shouldn't have even tried.
I haven't got it in me.
These were the thoughts I had that morning. I remember having them. I begged Liverpool to let me in and went over there to see if there was anyway at all I could make it to Medical School. No luck.
Then I remember a change in my mindset, the defiance that developed over the next few days.
I am not going to let this slip up stop me.
I think I have it in me to try again.
I know I could’ve worked harder.
I am NOT going to let him be RIGHT.
I am capable.
I am good enough.
That year of retaking my A levels was the year I learnt how to learn. I understood concepts that had never made sense to me. I learnt how to be self motivated and become more independent.
It felt like I got it. Things started to really become clear. Medical School gave me the best life long friends anyone could wish for and maybe that would've been different had I gone earlier.
That year of independent learning also got me through the immense amounts of work and exams that are thrown at you in Med School. It made the difference between me coping and loving it rather than potentially finding it incredibly difficult.
These things happen for a reason. 2020, more than any other, has just been unbelievable for you all and there are so many people that are feeling disappointed today as well as many who will be thrilled.
Don’t let an exam result define you. Be brave. Dig deep and pull on all that determination to go again or to open your mind to other options. There are so many opportunities that you may not have considered.
You hold the key to your future. You just need to be brave and unlock it.
