Graduated Top of My Class, Now What? ( cont. )

This is the second installment of the article :Graduated Top of My Class, Now What? If you haven't read it yet, click that link and be refreshed. I'll wait for you right here to come back.

You're all caught up with the story so far? Let's continue.

Fourth Grade

This is one chaotic year when it comes to our academics. The sections were mixed and there are 2 sections claiming that they are the first section. I can't imagine how that happened and I couldn't even care less for that. No matter which section we belonged to, we will be taught the same lessons and most definitely, the exams will somehow be more likely the same, rather than not.

My journey with interschool competitions continues and for that time I was sent to compete with other schools in writing. I think that my advisor then suggested to the committee that I should be part of the "school paper" team. I entered as a feature writing representative and somehow, I ended up winning first place. And then I went on to compete with regionals and again, lost there. It was fine, just reaching that point is an adventure in itself and I was okay with that. There are other more contests that I could be a part of.

I finished with another silver medal at the end of that school year. And of course, Jollibee meal!

Fifth Grade

Are you smarter than a fifth grader? Well if you don't know that reference, you are too young to have a boyfriend. Anyway, that particular school year was an unforgettable year for me, you see, awards at the end of every school year has been part of my academic career but that year, I was not even in top ten. That's amazing right? According to my teacher back then, I was ranked 11th in class. Only the top 10 students in each class will be recognized come recognition day, and I was 11. So, yeah. You guessed it right, no Jollibee for me.

One may wonder what could have happened that year right? Well I don't know, politics? Maybe. I was out of luck? Who knows. And I did not even complain. I could not even complain, I'm a fifth grader, what could I have done?

My parents weren't really strict when it comes to those kind of things, maybe because like me, they believe that I did not deserve that, and it's not important what place are you in among your peers, the only thing that matters is what you have learned during the classes and the school year. Well, for me, I learned a lot. In academics and in life.

That was also the year that I was suspended from going to class because I allegedly cursed at our teacher. And of course. I did not. I was a kid, I was raised better than that. And as a kid, I could not do that to our elders. Well yeah, she was nearing her senior years then. But I remember that incident pretty clearly. She was writing on the board like any other day, and we are supposed to copy what was written on it. And since I don't really care about lectures like that, I chose to chat with my classmate. We were noisy. I was noisy, as always. And then I cursed. I cursed my friend. And boom. I was suspended.

My father was needed in school. He had to go and apologize to that teacher before I can continue with my classes. I missed a couple of days. And I was like "to hell with that. I'm done."

What a system right?

Sixth Grade

Entering the sixth and final year of my elementary years was like a fresh start for me. I have no reputation to build on and no pressure or whatsoever to keep myself on top, since I was not even close for the last year. So I just had to go with it. Competitions are the same. I remember that I had to "memorize" a text book, cover to cover just to be effective on a inter school quiz bee. The subject was science and technology. And I love that. For a couple of weeks then, when the class's subject is science, I was excused from taking it. My teacher would let me go out of the classroom and feel the outside breeze. Now that I think about it, that's more like a punishment more than a reward. I could not even play outside, there's no one to play with, how is that good, right?

Anyway against all odds and fears for high school, I managed to land a place at the top again. And I meant top for that time. I graduated valedictorian for that year. It was amazing. I had to write my own speech and speak before my peers and distinguished guests. I remember creating that speech from scratch and revising it for several days. Delivering that speech felt great too. Somehow, it was a vindictive moment for me. Not that revenge was in my mind back then. I was a kid!

High School

Back in our days, High School was just for four years. No senior or junior high. It was just high school. And for those four years I was a constant 1st placer aside from the graduation year.

The same gig continued. I've joined even more contests, both in academic and athletics. I was all over the place. And literally all over the place. I had visited many schools then, seen a lot of faces, and known a lot of people. And well, puberty. I was fortunate I was well read. :)

I guess maybe I ran out of luck for our fourth and final year or I let up somehow because the graduation came and I finished second. Salutatorian as others called it. And again, I was okay with it. I did not really go to school to compete for that top place, it was just a byproduct of what I was doing back then. So in my mind, it was not that bad.

College

This is not even worth mentioning since I just came to school, listened to the lectures if there are any. And learn what I could. It is true what they said back then, college is more on self learning. Some other professors will just give you the syllabus and expect you to be educated when you meet again. I was fine with that so I rolled with it. For all those years that I took up BSIT, I never once received an accolade. Not that I did anything extraordinary. My grades were above average but not as high as those top runners. And I did not even thought of that back then.

Conclusion

It does not matter what your class standing was back in school, what matters is what you know, what you've learned, and how you utilize those things. If I were to ask you, "where do you think I am now in life?" could you answer it accurately? With that kind of educational background where am I supposed to be in now? What should I be doing?

Those rewards and recognitions I received, I think that those things could be considered and shall serve as motivational effects to further strive for the betterment of oneself. Those may not be used to define someone as a person and even as a professional.

If you look for a job, do those things matter? I don't think any company will ask you what place were you in when you graduated.

With all that said, where you are, and where you are going will be entirely up to you. Your future is in your hands, not in the medals or certificates you've collected, it is there within you for you to reach. So keep moving forward and upward.

Hey there!

Thank you for reading this one too. I really appreciate you. I just have one question for you now. Were you, or are you conscious about your standing in school? Why?

I would love to hear from you. Kindly drop by on the comment section and I'll get back to you.

As always,

Cheers!!!

Sources:

Lead image : https://www.bestcolleges.com/blog/how-to-celebrate-college-graduation-covid19/

Image 1 : https://www.123rf.com/photo_16899901_school-college-graduation-cartoon.html

Image 2 : https://www.lynda.com/Leadership-Management-tutorials/professional/570965/632917-4.html

Image 3 : https://topguri.blogspot.com/2016/02/contrast-between-good-student-and-bad.html