If you are going to fail, then fail gloriously

              About 14 lakh students gave JEE main out of which 1.5 lakh qualified. Out  of those 1.5 lakh only 1.26 were confident enough to appear for JEE advance. Out of those 1.26 lakh only 15,000 students qualified advance. Out of those 15,000 only  9546 seats are available in the IITs, inclusive of the reserved  seats.

               I am not trying to give you the statistical toughness of an exam as competitive as the JEE.

I am not trying to prove how intelligent and fortunate those are who do qualify the exam. Neither am I trying to warn you against the demanding and arduous nature of the exam.

      What I am trying to tell you are  the number of dreams that are crushed and smashed for the sake of this exam i.e.99.7% .

          Granted that out of those 14 lakh students about 4-5 lakh students are fluke (Not very serious about the exam) but the remainder is still a huge number.

   And honestly, I cant even begin to describe what  such kind of failure does to students.

                          As for me, I did prepare for the exam diligently  and worked hard but at a certain level of subconscious  I always knew it was not what  I wanted.  For a long time I struggled to compete and crack JEE, thinking, making myself believe that it was my holy grail. However, along the way I realized that my preparation was not up to the level of JEE. But I was never ready to give up and I continued the fracas. I gave the exams because I had worked so hard to prepare for them but I was mentally prepared not to expect anything. And as it happens I was not at all affected by my JEE advance results. I should have felt bad, cried, cursed my luck but then, none of the things happened to me. Maybe because it was never really what I wanted or maybe because by that time I had already surrendered. However,  I know now that not every failure is a defeat, and not every success a victory. I found a certain triumph in my failure, probably that’s why the botch did not smother my confidence to ashes.

         I took the fall in a positive way. I learnt a lot because of my experience in the past two years, even if  I did not get what I had set out for, life took its turn and gave me more than I could have ever asked for.

      This is what happened to me and how I took my falling. But there are more people.

          I know three people for whom IIT was a golden pinnacle and who could see nothing below it. They did work hard for it too. They did give other exams like VITEE, SRMEE, Manipal, BITSAT too. But JEE did not work out for them. At present two of them have decided to pursue B.Sc while the third is still debating whether to opt for B.Sc or get into another college for B.tech or drop a year.

 Out of the former two, one of them has opted for Maths hons. In DU with contentment. She  agrees that JEE or B.Tech was just not her cup of tea. She was definitely disheartened at first, but she did not let the fall stop her and found a new way to define herself. 

         The second person however, did not have much cheerfulness as compared to his dejection.  He felt that he could not meet the expectations of his parents and instead of trying, taking admission in other good colleges, he completely resigned. In a fit of misery he decided to go for a B.Sc course in a local college that would not have much value. I was shocked to hear of this because he has been one of the most ambitious people I knew. I felt it was a waste of talent, but he would not heed to my advice.

        The third person is amidst a tumultuous state of confusion right now. Since plans never go as planned, she is still hanging from the cliff. Even though by each passing day, the pain increases tremendously but she won't let go. And personally, I like that about her. A kind of perseverance despite the perpetual aspect of hopelessness.

       And that is what this post is about-failing gloriously.

                     It is not about how you fail, but what you turn your failure into that matters-a lesson, an experience or even a victory.

        I know several people who have decided to drop the year. Personally, I could never imagine dropping another year after two years of hell. I think the one's who should drop are those who did not prepare for IIT as such during 11th and 12th but want to do it. OR those who want nothing but IIT. But those who have worked for 2 years, joined a coaching and already spent a lot of money on it-dropping is a huge risk. But that's just my personal opinion.

        However despite the optimism, the back-up plans  or other good things working out,  there is still a scar that remains-the scar that you tried something and failed. If anything, it does blow up your ego. It is something that you will have to live with the rest of your life-you tried and failed at something.
          But the scar can heal, and it all depends on your attitude. In the words of Rudyard Kipling

"

If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster

And treat those two impostors just the same;

….

Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,"