Marks can’t be More Important than You the Person

Marks can’t be More Important than You the Person

Dr Dimpy Mahanta

Dr Dimpy Mahanta is the Founding Head of the Postgraduate Department of Psychology, Cotton University. She has been a student counsellor and motivational speaker and has been serving as a board member (psychologist) in the selection process of country’s leading public sector undertakings. Currently she is the president of North East Indian Association of Applied Psychology. She can be reached at mahantadimpy@gmail.com)

Life itself is the biggest examination, and I say that with full conviction as a once-upon-a-time topper during my boards with letter marks in all five subjects. During my young and later adulthood, I have stumbled a lot, have fallen on my face, and have been through many of life’s curves and bends, something that those meagre marks can’t guarantee to protect or insulate you from. Not everything in life is determined by that double-digit number.

Dear students, board examination results are just one of the many milestones of your life. It can never be more important than you or your life. In fact, one of the biggest lessons that I have learnt in my own life which has been full of struggles is that nothing in life should be taken away too seriously. As they say, “Don’t sweat the small stuff, it’s all small stuff.”

There comes a point in our lives where board exam marks and college brand name stop mattering the world, and other things with more substance are given the way. These days, scoring 90% and above has become run-of-the-mill, where quite often we see students scoring much more marks than the questions attempted; thus marks really don’t mean the same as they did previously. Skills, knowledge, talent, creativity and work ethics ultimately shape a child’s personality and also become determining factors about how s/he would fare in life. Just like you can’t judge a bird and a fish using the same scale, similar is the case with our students. Every student or child is unique and has an aptitude.

In a society, we need individuals with diverse aptitudes and abilities. A society cannot function efficiently if all of us are engineers or medical practitioners from pedigree institutes. For a society to flourish effectively, we need doctors, engineers, architects, administrators, lawyers, writers, journalists, entrepreneurs, lecturers, politicians, and the list goes on. Your aim after your boards should be to make a mark in any of your chosen fields. We have real life examples of individuals who followed their hearts and have excelled in their domains. There are instances of doctors who followed their passion and became accomplished musicians later in life. We have examples of engineers from reputed institutes who have made a mark in film direction and other areas in which they have an aptitude and are passionate about.

So do not get disheartened if you failed to score as per your expectations in your boards. Life is a beautiful canvas. Even if at times the canvas appears monochromatic due to life’s twists and turns, yet all that you need to do is hold the brush, immerse it in the paint, and throw the beautiful colours of hope, love and laughter on that canvas of life.

Never let any examination result overpower your inner will and the power to create the life that you desire. Like any examination, you will succeed and at times you will fail. Since marks are predisposed to be influenced by numerous factors both within and outside the individual, hence many a time they can’t accurately determine the student’s potential and ultimately his or her success in life. Every time you get knocked down in any examination, remember that you are and you will always be still the most precious one for your parents, irrespective of your marks and rank secured in your examination. Just rise up after every fall with renewed vigor and enthusiasm, introspect and find out the lacuna, and then put your heart and soul together to carve out a niche for yourself in whichever field you decide.

As someone who has been on both sides of the table in the selection process, I can firmly state that all organizations give more value to candidates who are self-motivated and responsible with requisite skill-sets in the chosen domain rather than focusing on meagre marks of board examinations. So don’t get disheartened, instead try acquiring relevant skills and strive towards becoming the best version of yourself. Success and happiness will definitely kiss your feet at every step in your life.

Wish you all the very best!

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