Topic: School / Industry News
Navigating exam results can be anxiety-inducing but it doesn’t have to be.
It’s that time of year again. The summer holidays are finally here, you can forget about school and then it happens… exam results are announced. It’s pivotal information that will determine your future, where, and maybe what, you’ll study for the next few years, and you’ve been preparing for this day for months.
In the last couple of years, reaction videos have been trending online. Students film their reaction to results and acceptance letters. Joyous, jubilant and emotional, years of hard work reflected in one moment. But sometimes, in fact far more often than not, things don’t go according to plan. If you’re feeling anxious about what your future might hold, read on for our top tips to navigate Results Day:
- Celebrate! – Even if you haven’t received the results you were hoping for, this doesn’t take away from all your hard work and achievements. Everything you’ve achieved up to this point are foundations for your future, and whether they’re what you were expecting or not, you’ve learnt skills, knowledge and experience along the way.
- Take a breathe – There’s no need to rush into major decisions, even though it might feel like it. With your friends declaring their plans excitedly, you might feel extra pressure to share your next step, but there’s no rush. A simple “I’m still exploring the best option for me” will keep everyone satisfied.
- Reach out – Talk to someone you can trust (a family member, a friend or a teacher) and share how you’re feeling. You don’t need to navigate this on your own and a bit of outside perspective helps you see this moment for what it is – a page within a chapter of a much bigger life! Disappointment, frustration, shame, anger, sadness… These are all perfectly natural feelings and the best thing you can do for yourself is confront them. Once you’ve worked through them, you can start the next exciting phase…
- Work out your new options! – This can feel a little overwhelming, but there’s plenty of support out there. Like most challenges in adult life, the trick to navigating these hurdles is to seek out someone who knows more than you do. Reach out to a guidance counselor and you can also contact our team for free counselling. We can help you figure out your next move and support you every step of the way.
If nothing else, just remember that while you might not be heading down the path you thought you would be, you have the chance to embark on a brand new, unexpected and exciting adventure!
