Envelope

sceptre

newgrange wrote:

It is only an exam. It is not the end of the world if someone does not do as well as they expected or hoped, there is always another way of achieving what you want. It might take longer, but it is still an option.

Agreed. I'd like to think I read your original post in the way you meant it and I agree with it. Mind you, I've had the experience of doing pretty well in my LC (1993), getting the course I wanted, doing the whole course and then deciding after a few years that I absolutely hated the idea of working as either a lawyer or an accountant for the rest of my life and starting a completely different degree course instead.

The leaving cert is a tool, nothing more or less. An important tool but still just a tool. A good leaving cert opens doors but a bad leaving cert (and I recognise that different people will have a different idea of what constitutes "good" or "bad") doesn't necessarily see them close. There's the option to do the thing again. It'll take an extra year of your life but as you get older an extra year really isn't all that long (I committed myself to an extra four years in my life-changing exercise). There's the option to take a different route to the career you want. This may take an extra few years rather than an extra one but you may even emerge with a better perspective on what you want to do during that time. Giving yourself options is probably (apart from knowledge and an appreciation of nkowledge) the best gift you can ever give yourself. If you've achieved a good leaving cert you've probably already given yourself that (and well done!). If you've achieved a leaving cert that's less than you hoped for or expected, you've not closed the door on doing that for yourself. It'll probably only cost time - and at under 20 years of age you've probably got plenty of that. Commit the time, commit the effort. It's basic advice that we could all do well to take.