Even after all this time, I still remember the day the General Secondary Certificate results were announced. I went to my school alone that day. I wasn’t afraid but rather expectant. Everyone was present – teachers, classmates, and administrative staff. The first person I saw was my philosophy teacher. I shyly smiled at her, only for her to exclaim, "How could you do this to me, of all people?!" Her shocking words drained the blood from my veins and froze me in place. She repeated, "You! You! How?" I surrendered to my fate and didn’t utter a single word. A profound silence enveloped me, preventing me from asking her what she meant or even looking around. Heavy moments passed as I thought about my miserable fate and how I would face my family at home. A severe reckoning and a strict court loomed in my mind, where I stood powerless to find a logical justification for my alleged deed.

Had I neglected my studies? Absolutely not! I had exerted all my effort, even following educational programs on the radio and television with great interest. Clearly, all my efforts were either insufficient or incomplete. Perhaps I hadn't trained myself on previous years' exams or wasn't sufficiently familiar with the question formats. Mere knowledge wasn't enough, as evidenced by my current situation. What good is information if I don’t know how to employ it to its fullest potential?

Maybe I should admit that I was wrong in not seeking private tutoring, relying only on attending school and studying at home. I recalled a classmate challenging me, saying I wouldn’t achieve satisfactory results without private lessons like them. "Your fate will be miserable!" she had once said, astonished that I was the only one refusing outside help. How pleased and gloating she must be today! Had I really made a mistake? I had refused tutoring because my school was committed and strict. All lessons were thoroughly explained throughout the year, and our teachers didn't skimp on a single moment of explanation and training. I must have been wrong. I should have done what everyone else did. What harm would there have been? I had insisted on refusing, and here was the result!

What is my fate now? The available universities are only the public ones, with no private university except the expensive American University. Will I have to accept any department since I lack the luxury now? This is what I have brought upon myself! I scolded myself harshly in those few seconds that took me away from reality, in line with my teacher’s words, and recalled the philosophy and logic classes where I used to sit as if I had a bird on my head. I neither liked nor understood the subject, but did that mean I had failed?

I snapped out of my reverie to my teacher’s voice: "You are the last person I expected such a result from! How did you achieve it, being so silent and solemn all year? Your result is excellent and completely unexpected! I thought you would fail. You never participated in class discussions, never attended an outside lesson, and your grades throughout the year did not bode well. Congratulations, you surprise maker!" She hugged me, congratulating me while I stood like a desolate leaf caught by the wind without warning.

I found myself awakened from my daydream by the laughter and congratulations of my friends and classmates. I had succeeded and with distinction! My teacher’s words were only a reflection of her unexpected shock.

Indeed, I had been lethargic all year. I worked silently, speaking little and appearing infrequently. I didn’t find a need for external lessons that would drain my effort and time, as long as my school provided the best it could in terms of explanation and attention. I was lucky to have teachers who only cared about the students' welfare. My school was disciplined, which was a stroke of luck for me.

My General Secondary Certificate experience was truly different from everyone else’s. I did not embrace anxiety and only believed that God would not let my effort go to waste. I spared no effort in studying and following the educational programs available on television and radio at the time. In the pre-digital revolution era, that was the extent of our knowledge—no YouTube or internet sites. I believed it was just an ordinary year, not a decisive one, so I divided my effort between my studies and the hobbies I loved. I kept reading and didn’t live a whole year deprived of it. I slept soundly the night before the exam and sat in the exam hall calm and confident that I had done my best. I didn’t suffer from hair loss or any psychological or physical symptoms caused by anxiety and pressure. I endured the silly and sarcastic comments that I avoided private lessons due to financial constraints, not by personal choice. No one believed that I genuinely preferred not to scatter my effort and time.

Today, years and years later, I look at myself and my classmates. The future that everyone thought depended on a certificate grade or a specific college name turned out not to be so. Here we are, looking at the past from this future that has become our present. Those who thought their world would end in a specific university or field failed, while those who thought attending an unexpected place would bring them misfortune found nothing but success and prosperity. How many of us ended up working in fields unrelated to our studies, and how many of us ended up in something completely unforeseen? My friend who fought to get into medical school doesn’t practice the profession at all today, and another who aimed for engineering switched to a field she passionately loves!

Success isn’t tied to a geographic location or an unwavering title. Be kind to yourselves and your children. This phantom that haunts homes every year must be expelled from minds and rooms. How many students died in despair, and how many parents lost their dearest possessions to the General Secondary Certificate? This isn’t a call for complacency but a call to reassess and lighten the burden on ourselves and others.

Life is full of opportunities and fields where both certificate holders and non-holders can succeed. If the determination is true, the path will be clear; it’s one determination, but who said there’s only one path?