Some numbers make your heart race. Others make it sink.
I’ve felt both.
I’ve flipped through exam sheets with sweaty palms, holding my breath for a grade that seemed to carry too much weight. I’ve seen classmates go quiet over an 85%, as if that single mark had the power to erase all they had worked for. And I’ve seen artists, dreamers and deep thinkers sit in the shadows—just because their brilliance didn’t show up on a report card.
But here’s what I’ve come to believe: a report card shows performance, not potential.
Why do schools so often forget this? Why are we all measured by the same scale, as if we’re meant to follow the same path? A student who paints galaxies in their notebook or writes stories that make people feel is rarely applauded like the one who tops a math test. But aren’t both equally extraordinary?
Yes, marks matter—but only up to a point. They should never become the only way to judge intelligence, effort, or worth. Because dreams don’t come stamped with A1 or B2. They grow through those late nights when your eyes are tired but you keep going anyway, the quiet setbacks no one notices, and the courage to stand back up.
One low grade should never silence a voice. One report card can never define everything we are—or everything we’re meant to become.
So the next time someone asks me, “What did you score?”
I’ll smile—not because I topped the test, but because I still believe in myself.
And sometimes, that belief is worth more than any mark ever written on paper.
August, 2025
