ARE SCORES EVERYTHING?

 In these 19 years of my life, I have been really good at my studies. Well, this is what I  thought until I gave my JEE(Joint Entrance Examination) exam.

For peeps who are not familiar with it, JEE is an exam to get admission to top engineering colleges such as IITs, IIITs, NITs, etc. 

Till 10th standard I was really good at maths and science and scored well in my boards examination, as a result, I chose non-medical stream in 11th grade and hence started preparing for JEE. I worked really hard for two years but sadly I was not able to make it to the top institutes of my country.

When JEE results came out, the atmosphere of my house turned gloomy. My parents and grandparents were so disappointed, and all those phone calls from family friends and relatives made the situation even worse. I started to doubt my capabilities and my future. At that moment all I saw was a future so unclear that it scared me. I was rejected from top institutes and the one in which I was accepted didn't offer my preferred stream i.e computer science. So in the end I was compelled to take admission to a private university.

I was crestfallen and not at all excited about my college life. All I can think was how to make my parents trust me again? How to trust me again? 

Days passed, and my first day of college arrived. I was not expecting anything because the image of private universities is so bad in India that all I thought of was going there was proof that I have failed, that I won't find anybody there who is passionate about their career. But I was wrong, there I found pupils who were really good at coding, who were already earning 1 lakh per month from the websites they have developed, who had such brilliant ideas for start-ups, and who were curious to learn and make their life better.

These people made me believe that marks are not everything, you are not defined by your grades but by the skills you possess and this was the moment when I started to gain confidence again and started to work on myself.

By this article, I would like to tell the readers that work hard, but if you fail, if you don't make it then don't stress over it, life is full of opportunities, assess yourself and don't make the same mistake again. 

Scores are not everything, if you don't make it to a prestigious college, it's ok all you need to do is work on your skills and work a little extra than your batchmates and friends and be at the top of your game.

Society will keep on saying stuff, your parents and relatives might taunt you in the beginning but don't let it get to you. As someone has rightly said:

Your limits are not defined by them but by you.

Your parents will support you and love you unconditionally, right now they just want some time and in that time you need to prove yourself, to both your parents and you.

 Now all of us will be stepping out of our comfort zone and will face the world. I hope this article will help students cope up with disappointment and help them become the best version of themselves.

~Priya