The exam slip isn't everything

Exam season is drawing near! Whether if you're taking PT3 or SPM or any other really-important-your-future-depends-on-it kind of exam, I hope you're studying hard and reaching for the moon (or at least hoping to land on the stars). But I do have some advice I hope to impart  before you enter the exam hall and sit for those exam papers, before you get that result slip. And it is the exam slip isn't everything.

But isn't doing well important?Well, yes. It kinda is. You should always aim to do well in your studies, and that is something I still stand very strongly by.

Through my observations, since I've gotten my results, I've really just used them for one thing--scholarships. And this is where straight A's really give you a boost (if your co-curriculars aren't too shabby either), because it shows that you showed the determination and perseverance necessary to do well in a public exam. That's a good thing. AND YOU SHOULD ALWAYS AIM TO DO THIS.

When you enter college, your classmates aren't interested in how well you did in your SPM. And to be honest, nobody really cares. What you really should be focusing on is the present and doing well now, not just how well you did in the past. The boasting rights die down pretty quickly.

(P.S: Don't use my article as an excuse when you tell your parents your results are not important okay, I cannot be held liable for this, LOL!)

Our education system memang flawed
We all know this. It is a fact that our education system isn't exactly the best in the world, neither is it a productive way of learning and/or retaining information.

If you're a student who has experienced the horrors of a public education system, you will know how silly it can be. A written exam to test our morals? Like...how do you even measure human principles, an emotional sense of right and wrong...by memorizing a set of words? In any given situation, we would all probably react differently. I know this, because I have experienced group assignments.

So what I'm really trying to say is, if you're measuring your intelligence by the number of A's you're getting, I don't think its an accurate gauge, because we're all intelligent in our own ways. Which brings me to my next point, which is..

...Intelligence isn't being a photocopy machine
Not to undermine your memorizing skills lah, but really, if that's what you're doing, you're learning the wrong way.

The saddest part is that most of us fall prey to this: memorizing things, because it is the easiest way out. A lot of people do it, even I did do this.

I'm sure that we have all realized a long time ago that you don't actually learn anything. You memorize the entire textbook, purge it during the exam, and then you're very likely to forget what you 'learned', only to repeat the same cycle again when another exam approaches.

I don't think that's learning, and it is very likely that you agree too.

So what is intelligence?
Coming from a mass comm background, a field that most people look down on, most people in my college are damn good at what they do, and not all of them have straight A result slips. That just goes to show that intelligence cannot be measured by only one thing. Especially not by a piece of paper.

There are nine types of intelligence (I just googled), and logical-mathematical intelligence is only one of them.

We all have different talents: sports, drawing, writing, being sociable, doing insane mathematical equations, public speaking and yes--even memorizing things. Intelligence isn't something that is measured based on how well you can answer questions in an exam. Your intelligence isn't reflected in the printed words on paper.

Most importantly, your intelligence is not your result slip. You are not your result slip.

An exam is just one stepping stone of the hundreds in life
And that's a fact. Yes, yes, I know Insert Major Exam Here is a pretty big deal and it should be! At the same time though, I hope all of you realize that it is, after all, only an exam.

You will face so much more in your entire life, so many more exams, tests--and not all of them are written. There are so many things that will determine how your life will turn out, and this exam is only one of them. I always tell people that the most important thing is to really just give it your all. Give it your all, so that no matter what happens in the end, at least you know you have done your best. The result was determined by the circumstance and situation you were in, but you can tell yourself that you tried.

That kind of faith in yourself is the most important thing. Because it is going to be the driving force behind your success in the future--how willing you are to put in effort to improve, learn and pursue your ambitions. That, that is what will carry you much further than a simple exam slip.

So to conclude things...
I still hope that you are all studying hard and aiming to do the best you can, and I wish you all the best of luck. Give it your all, know that you tried your best. No matter what the outcome is, know that you are way more than just numbers and alphabets. You are a human being, you are one of a kind, and you are special. Never, ever forget that.

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