Careers are not dependent on grades, these success stories are a proof
But, is it really that big of a problem? Even if it is, how do we deal with it? In the words of our former President Dr APJ Abdul Kalam, “Man needs his difficulties because they are necessary to enjoy success”.
While most of the Class 12 students by now have secured a seat in their college or are waiting for the cut-offs, there are many who may not get a seat in their favourite course or college. Throughout the year, we all work hard to score well in the board exams but even after getting results, we are worried. Why? The root of our problems is our career. In India, there are many competitive examinations ranging from NEET and IIT-JEE to CLAT that are held in May-June. The issue that bothers us the most is either our marks in board exams or our performance in competitive tests.
If we manage to secure good score in our exams, we become anxious and nervous whether we would be able to secure a seat in a good institution or not. On the other hand, if we do not achieve good-enough marks, people around us makes us realise how ruined our life will become and how we will not be able to have a decent career in future. This is the most serious problem of all the students in India — it, literally, is a do-or-die situation.
But, is it really that big of a problem? Even if it is, how do we deal with it? In the words of our former President Dr APJ Abdul Kalam, “Man needs his difficulties because they are necessary to enjoy success”. He always said that our perspective can make all the difference. In order to support his poor family, he distributed newspapers after his school-hours to add to his father’s income. He received average marks in school but was a hardworking student with a strong desire to learn and discover. He also failed to become a pilot but he never lost hope and later came to be known as the “Missile man of India”. His life is a clear example of the result we get when we deal with our problems positively.
Stephen Hawking is another well-known name. He was a great cosmologist, theoretical physicist and author. He hailed from a poor family and at 21, he was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS: failure nerves that control muscles). His early school life was not magnificent, he got the third rank from the bottom in his classes but he really enjoyed board-games. He made computers out of waste-parts to solve mathematical equations. His immense success as a physicist proves that our careers are not solely decided by our grades and disability but on our determination. He always said, “Disability is never physical and is always in the mind.”
We all love Harry Potter novels but not many of us know about the hardships faced by the series author JK Rowling. Soon after getting the idea for Harry Potter, she began writing but had to stop suddenly because of the devastating death of her mother. Later, she ended up with a failed marriage. She had no job. As she struggled with depression, raising her baby-daughter on her own and living off scant unemployment benefits, she resumed her work on the books while her daughter was asleep. In spite of numerous setbacks, she found peace in doing what she loved the most – writing.
Her work was constantly rejected by numerous publishers but as she describes now “Failure meant a stripping away of the inessential. I stopped pretending to myself that I was anything other than what I was, and began to direct all my energy into finishing the only work that mattered to me”. Finally, the editor at Bloomsbury publishing company agreed to publish her work. She rose from being a jobless single-mother to one of the best-selling authors of all times.
Clearly, it is very important to realise that poor marks and not getting admission in favourite college/ course are trivial issues. Rather than losing heart, we should think of making our next step successful. What matters is the way we deal with problems. That is what makes or breaks our careers. Good grades in examinations are never useless but they definitely are not the only factor that leads to successful professions and we, as students, should learn this from our real-life heroes.
- The author is an M.Tech student- Biological Engineering- IIT Gandhinagar
Source: Indian Express, 6/07/2018
