I don’t talk about my schooling very much on here because it was a bit of a mixed bag. I had great experiences with schooling in an unconventional way. I had the most amazing tutor that came to my house and got me through my GCSEs and without her, I wouldn’t have got what I needed to go onto my A-Levels.

I was told during my GCSEs that it was my only chance to get the grades I needed for A Levels. It was so stressful and my health did deteriorate significantly but I was determined not to leave my education yet. I wanted to leave it so I could come back to education with most of the qualifications needed to do a degree or whatever I wanted when I was better. I didn’t want to fall behind.

In the UK we have a complicated system for when people aren’t well enough to go to school. You can slip through the cracks and unfortunately, it can come down to funding.

I was lucky that I managed to get onto a trial scheme between the online school I did my A-Levels with (Nisai if you are looking for online alternatives to school) and the county council where I live. I was one of two people who started their schooling with them and last time I had heard there were many people now having access to education via online.

Nisai were amazing and they were fully supportive and helped me in any way I needed them to. I would highly recommend them. That being said my A-Levels were stressful and I couldn’t keep up with the sheer volume of what I needed to do or know. I did pass my A-Levels but I was stressful and I found myself feeling so far behind I’m amazed I got any grades, let alone ones that were a pass. I scraped through with not the most impressive letters attached to my grades but they mean the world to me.

I wanted to write this because I know there will be many people anxiously waiting for exam results. You may have felt well over your head the whole year and never seemed to be where you needed to be. The accomplishments you have done isn’t on the piece of paper, it’s the fact you got up every day when most wouldn’t blame you for saying you couldn’t. It is the fact that despite your health issues you tried and you had the guts to go in knowing you had a disadvantage from the start line.

You showed up and you tried and that’s all you can do. I know how impossibly huge that exam result feels but the path you take in life will never be linear. It will never be simple or straight forward. The beauty of our individuality comes from our different life stories and the paths we took.

You don’t have to do everything when everyone else does or what appears socially acceptable. You have the strength to set out your direction in life and if that seems like a jump into the unknown then that’s okay. You are worthy and you have done your best in an impossible situation.

Rest up and remember that you, as the person you are, is the accomplishment not the number or letter on the papers. The rest of it will work itself out in the end. If you need more time then that’s okay just be proud of trying to defy the odds of success from a difficult place.

If you have had to stop your education because you weren’t well enough then that is a step of courage. You are following the needs of your body and there should be no shame in that. You are worth as much as anybody and you will figure out your route when you can. Your worth isn’t in the grades you get or the way you live your life. You are amazing in your own right and the beauty of life is you can go and do the things that are important to you when you are ready.

I hope that this helps one person because we focus so much on how people perform and what job they have rather than the people they are. Good luck to all those who are waiting and I hope you find yourself feeling proud regardless of what’s written on your results.