Most of us would be familiar with the nerve-wracking, stress-inducing experience of waiting for your national examination results.

At that point in time, it sometimes feels like an all-or-nothing – do well and be set for life, or do mediocre and “fail”.

Combine that with having to decide on the kind of tertiary education you’d like to pursue when you might not even know what you want for breakfast, let alone in life, and it can all seem quite overwhelming.

Whether you’re anxious about your N-level or O-level results, or just lost as to what the future might hold, you’re not alone.

Here are six perspectives from Singaporean millennials, who have been there, survived, and can vouch that things can and will turn out just fine.

1) Dealing with familial expectations

As told to Mothership by “Li Shan”

When I was 16, O-level was like the most important thing in my life.

I poured hours and hours into studying, because I thought my life opportunities would be severely limited if I didn't do well academically.

Looking back now, I realise how silly this was. I obviously stressed myself out way too much back then.

When I got my results slip and I didn't perform up to my expectations, and I think my family's expectations, (ok actually I'm not sure if we expected too much, maybe we could have been more realistic), I remember sitting on the floor crying, and questioning what I had done ”'wrong”.

Which is honestly ridiculous because my grades weren't even that bad.

I think I was just overwhelmed because I had expected myself to perform better, and fell short.

I still went on to pursue post-secondary education, and eventually made it to university, and well, life went on, and on.

With the benefit of hindsight, O-level results didn’t turn out to be that big of a deal in the grander scheme of things.

I guess sometimes things don't feel okay because we get too seized by the present moment (events like receiving results, or waiting for the outcome for a job application), but these burdensome feelings will always turn out to be fleeting.

So it may not feel okay sometimes, but it's all part of the ebbs and flows of life.

2) F9 for A-maths

As told to Mothership by “Katherine”

I was (and still kinda am) abysmal at Maths and Science and I was taking A-Maths, E-Maths, and Triple Science – Chemistry, Biology, and Physics then, so those were my biggest worries.

At the start of Sec 4, I was still averaging an F9 for A-Maths and I knew if I didn’t do something about it, this would be the grade I’d be stuck with for O-level.

So I begged my mum to get a tutor for me, and while she was initially very reluctant because it was expensive, she did eventually.

It paid off, because I ended up getting a B3 or B4 for A-Maths during O-level.

Looking back now, I’ve learnt that it’s basically a number’s game, and that you don’t have to be perfect at everything.

I was doing eight subjects, so I could afford to mess up a maximum of two subjects (Back then, it was L1B4 or L1B5 depending on whether you were going to poly or JC).

In the end, while I didn’t feel very good about my results, and two of my weaker subjects got C6, my overall results exceeded my expectations, and I entered the polytechnic course of my dreams.

It was something I thought I could never do because of the strict cut-off points.

What I’d tell myself then: You’ve already done your best, so even if it doesn’t turn out well, at least there won't be any regrets.

3) A series of unfortunate events

As told to Mothership by “Bob”

During my prelims, I got dengue, and had to drop out of examinations halfway through.

I think I managed to take half of the papers, and essentially got C5 for all of them.

I failed the rest.

While waiting for my O-level results, I was not confident, but I was still hopeful that I could get into the school that I wanted.

I didn’t, and was disappointed that I could not enter the JC of my choice, but was later glad I made lots of good friends and experiences in another JC.

What I realised? O-level is important during this stage of life, but the results don’t matter in the long run.

It’s more important to enjoy the process, and try to be happy regardless of the exam result.

4) Alternative path

As told to Mothership by “Yusof”

When it came to my O-level results, I was mainly worried about not doing well enough to have more course options to choose from.

I didn’t yet know what I wanted to do, all I knew was that the worse I did, the fewer options I’d have.

Knowing how I had struggled before, during, and after past exams, I also knew that my odds weren't high to do well, so I either had to start looking for alternative options that I was more or less comfortable with, or “aim lower” by choosing a path that I completely did not want.

I decided to go into a private institute, as I did not want to go down the conventional route just for the sake of being able to qualify for a good local institute down the line.

I feel that I made the right choice, given how the examination process was not easy, with countless nights spent studying into the wee hours and copious amounts of caffeine, I am now proud of successfully completing the entire shebang, and I learnt that I can be determined, when I want to.

5) Explore

As told to Mothership by “Ashlie”

I was worried that I wouldn’t get the grades I wanted, and that I wouldn’t be able to get into a good school, especially because it is so easy to be defined by your grades and the schools you get accepted to.

On results day, I was super anxious, but I was trying to be realistic about it too. Like my mentality was “you did your best, whatever it is, it’ll be okay”.

In hindsight, those things are so small compared to the bigger picture that is life.

I actually wish I’d let myself really explore my options or what’s out there, before I’d decided.

I feel like at 16, most of us wouldn’t know what we wanted. We were just taught to be “the best” so that you have options in the future, when actually, you never really had the chance to explore that, you know what I mean?

A lot of our motivation to study was also driven by fear – like the fear of failing or not excelling in life.

But I think it’s easy to misunderstand these fears, if we’re not aware of the options that are actually present.

6) Work hard, play hard, can one

As told to Mothership by “Danny”

As a typical teenager, my only worry was the endless list of “what ifs”. What if I fail, where would I go? What if I get all A’s except for my Maths? What if I fail all subjects? What if I do not make the cut for my preferred course?

The day before my O-level results I was planning (a) how to break the news to my parents if I failed and (b) where can I go if I fail my national examinations?

I was still worried of what if I never scored well, and was unable to enrol my preferred course – I would feel so lost and unsure of what to do with my life

To my surprise, I managed to perform and was able to apply to any of the courses I wanted.

However, I went to JC instead.

My motto from that experience is: Work hard, play hard, can one.

I’d say: Chill, there are a lot of paths in life. If one door closes, there will always be 10 more doors open for you.

An alternative solution

There’s still a lot of pressure when it comes to national examinations in Singapore, and it can feel like you can only take a few very specific paths to succeed in life.

However, as the very popular saying goes – “life is what you make of it” – and your grades, regardless of how good or bad, truly don’t define you.

For starters, other than the junior college or polytechnic route, there are also private institutions, like PSB Academy, that you can apply to if you wish to explore a specific area of study for the future.

PSB Academy’s Early Admissions Exercise (EAE) allows O & N-level students to obtain a conditional letter of offer to selected programmes, from Business Management to Sports Sciences, with just their preliminary results.

A free trial of the actual lessons in the programme will be offered as part of the EAE, all the way until results day.

After that, should the actual results meet the entry requirements, students will be offered an official placement in the programme.

You can find out more about PSB Academy’s EAE here.

Top image via Unsplash

This sponsored article by PSB Academy made the writer think about life.