As the exams approached and as a mother, I felt compelled to say the following to those who needed to hear it:
No matter how crucial an exam may be, a grade can not define who you are. You are more than a grade. Don’t allow anything or anyone else to say who you are. You are the sum of your previous experiences and your perspectives on them. All of your passions and aspirations come together to form who you are. No standard test can assess these things.
Don’t let a quiz or exam define who you are since it can’t measure your compassion or flexibility in a situation, nor can it quantify your emotional intelligence or creativity. No standardized exam can quantify your perseverance in pursuing your objectives or the joy you get when you get up in the morning when you follow your passions. No school diploma can guarantee your success in life.
Successful people are defined not by their achievements in one area but rather by their resilience in pursuing a goal. What made the difference was their willingness to try again, even when everyone else felt it was impossible; the empathy that pushed them to find solutions to other people’s problems; and the excitement they poured into what they did.
Learning is an ongoing process that may happen in a variety of different environments, in addition to the traditional classroom settings. Don’t let anybody stop you!
Seek out new experiences, get to know new people, cultivate your capacity to listen and be heard, educate yourself on what it means to respect other people, and find out how to convey your perspective to others when you have something important to say! Seek answers, even when it appears like there are none, and strive to evaluate a problem from different angles. Put your abilities to the test by consistently creating new objectives for yourself, and don’t ever stop dreaming! Put your whole self into the things you are passionate about, listen to the voice of your intuition, and allow it to guide your actions. You are the only one who will ever know what you want out of life and what drives you more than anyone else ever could.
As for you, dear parents, let’s raise soulful children, balanced, confident in their strength, able to show compassion, interested in those around them, and eager to evolve. We live in the age of technology, and we humans will not be able to compete with robots unless we have the features they lack.
Best of luck!
