I was one of the thousands of candidates who sat for the PMR examinations and expected to score straight As, but I didn’t.

My circle of friends (who are considered nerds/hope of the school) performed as expected of them. I was the only one who failed to meet the expectations. I bawled my eyes out after I got my result and didn’t sleep for days.

I was depressed but mostly because of the unfairness of it all. A few students in my school, who usually score 2As or less, got straight As.

The ultimate humiliation for me was when that person actually comforted me, saying that I should study harder next time. I am a bookworm, a nerd, a geek – one of the best students in my school, who studied till early in the morning.
I have no idea how to study any harder than I already do.

I checked my test papers after the exams, and I knew I didn’t make more mistakes than my classmates. I even questioned what wrong I had done for God to punish me.

I pretended I couldn’t care less about my PMR results, and gave a fake smile when people congratulated me.

It’s just so hard. I feel like screaming that scoring 6As in PMR is not worthy of any congratulations. I have disappointed many people who had placed their hopes on me, especially my parents.

I have sent my paper for a re-check. I do not know what the result is going to be. I believe this is not the first time someone’s paper has been marked wrongly.
I feel guilty about writing this way because I know that person whom I didn’t expect to get straight A’s did her best, but I just want justice for me and others who are disappointed over their results. — Anonymous

Defining yourself

Sometimes things don’t go as we expect despite our best efforts, and that is a lesson that we will have to keep learning. What matters is how hard we work and believe in what we want, and what we make out of what we eventually get.

Don’t feel so down about your PMR results. It might not seem that way now, but getting 6A’s doesn’t change your life in any tangible way. The only thing PMR does is decide which SPM stream you get into, and your results don’t even affect that as you didn’t fail any subject or get a bad grade for Science.

You are upset because you have, for a long time, defined yourself as a “bookworm” and by your grades. By your own choice, you have linked your self-identity to grades and doing better in exams than everyone else.

But that is a rather unpleasant way to live life, isn’t it? You would be doing yourself a tremendous injustice if you believe that your intelligence –­ or anyone’s intelligence – is measured accurately by an exam.

I can’t tell you why you got 6As and not 7As for PMR, but I can tell you that it is not as important as how you choose to define yourself. You are a lot more than your grades.

You are the sum of your principles, your morals, how you treat people around you, the causes that you believe in and the things that you love. And that is something you must set aside your ego to believe in as you move forward from this.

Don’t hide your disappointment in your results from the people who are closest to you, as they can and will help you deal with your sadness a lot better. Lean on them to find the strength within you to look past your results.Most importantly, don’t give up on yourself, and realise that there will be so many more opportunities for you to prove yourself for as long as you want to. — Su Ann

Life isn’t about grades

Sending in your papers for a recheck is a good move, since there could be mistakes in the marking. But there are bigger lessons to be learnt here.
Firstly, it’s good to set a goal of being the best student. But it’s unhealthy to be consumed by it. The only real competition here is the one with yourself. Did you try your hardest, and study to the best of your ability? If you have, then be at peace.

Doing your best at any given time is all you can ask of yourself. Don’t worry about what your classmates got, and ignore the expectations heaped on you.
Look at ways you can improve – maybe you need to spend more time on a certain subject or perhaps it’s the way you studied. This doesn’t mean you’re inferior. We all develop in our own time, and that means some subjects need more attention than others.

Think about asking more questions during class or getting your classmates involved so you can understand your weak subjects better. Move forward by preparing yourself for future examinations. Leave this one behind. It is in the past, and that’s where it should belong.

Secondly, life isn’t only about grades. I can assure you that you’ll forget about this episode. As pressured as you are to get the best grades, think about what makes you a great person. Don’t forget your extracurricular activities, and developing leadership abilities such as listening and speaking confidently. Be sure to take part in activities that develop you socially, as well as academically.

You took a few hits, and you’re disappointed. What matters now is how you react. Are you going to continue to dwell on your results? Or are you going to improve, and turn this into a positive experience?

As you progress in life, you will experience disappointments. It’s far more important to get up and move on. See this setback as a challenge for you to improve and learn about how tough you are.

Looking at an event from this angle is a skill that will get you through future difficulties. — Rusyan