My name is Ryan. I have never been a good student. Mathematics is my worst subject. During my Semestral Assesmment (SA) in May, I obtained a miserable 22 out of 100. I was castigated by my mother and I was mocked relentlessly by my friends and cousins. I was determined to do better for my Continuous Assessment (CA) in Term Three. I resolved to turning over a new leaf. I promised myself that cut down on my phone-gaming, I would ask my mother to sign me up for tuition and I was going to study every, single, day. Every. Single. Day. I really wanted to pass my Math in Term 3.

"I'll play today and study tomorrow."

"I'll play for two hours and study for one later."

However, I placed my exam paper in a frame on my table. I let myself be reminded every day by the ghastly 22 out of 100. Soon, I was indeed studying every day. There were no more excuses. I had genuinely become a hardworking student. Even my mother was amazed by my sudden and drastic transformation.

I would reach home from school around three in the afternoon. I would shower but I made sure I did not nap. I did not allow myself any rest. From 3 pm to 11 pm every day, I would complete my homework then work on my Math. I had Math tuition on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Each session was two hours long. I was exhausted but I gritted my teeth and pushed on. Many nights, I burned the midnight oil when I failed to complete my 50 Math questions for the day. I would drink coffee to sustain myself and sleep at 2 or 3 am, take a short shut-eye then head to school.

On the day of my Math examination, I arrived full of expectation that I would be able to do well. I had worked so hard, I could surely do well.

I calmed myself down during the interval between Papers and steeled myself to do better for Paper 2. I can pass this Paper! I kept reassuring myself. However, Paper 2 was worse. There were so many questions I had not seen before. Even the questions I had seen before, I could not retrieve the solutions from my panicking mind. Every question, I felt worse. My heart was in tatters and I had to hold back my tears. I scrunched my hair and kept pulling at them, hoping that the pain would help me remember something. However, the pain did not help, I remembered little and knew I was doomed.All the hard work I had put in was down the drain. All those endless days and nights, were of no use. I felt so stupid! I felt so useless!

On the day we received our results, I remember Mr Lee actually smiling at me. That always-scolding evil devil was actually smiling at me? Could I have pulled off a miracle? Did something amazing actually happen? I had butterflies in my stomach as hope lifted me towards Mr Lee's table. He passed me the paper without me being able to see the grade. I closed my eyes and muttered a silent prayer before I slowly revealed the marks at the bottom of the paper. I was really hoping that a miracle had occurred but to my horror, the red ink read 39 out of 100.

I was heart-broken and I could not lift my spirits. Disappointment overwhelmed me and my head hung low in agony. The world turned quiet as I quietly sobbed at my table. I could not hear Mr Lee's scoldings and his lesson on the corrections for the Paper. I was just too consumed with grief and disappointment. Mr Lee could scold me for all I care. I had worked so hard. Why was God so unfair to me? Why could other people pass easily and yet for myself, I still failed after months of hard work. Mr Lee ambered slowly towards me at the end of the lesson.

 

"I... I..." I got myself ready for a tongue-lashing.

Amazingly, the scolding never came.

"Ryan, you have come so far. I am very proud of you..." Mr Lee praised me for my improved attitude over the past months. He consoled me and assured me I deserved better. He also praised me for improving the most in the entire class.

"But... I failed..."

"It's alright! Failure is the root of success. Learn your lessons, manage your time better, rest more, you will be less nervous the next time and you will do better. The last thing you must do is wallow in your disappointment and give up!" Mr Lee's words lit a fire in me. I was close to giving up on Math but he was right. I could not give up now. 

It is how you handle your disappointments that define you as a person. If you get up after the fall or just lay there in defeat. I refuse to be defeated. I refuse to give up. I reignited the fire in me and told myself that I would just have to persevere and try again. I will definitely pass the next Math test. With Mr Lee's advice, I was going to be braver in class and ask questions whenever I was in doubt. I would manage my time better and rest more. I would keep my chin up and not lose hope. I would not let my disappointment defeat me! 

I always expected myself to get good marks and my expectations  were high. I always got disappointed in my exams because my results were lower than every previous exam. On    

 the recent mathematics CA2...

Expecting too much can lead to so much disappointment.The spirit of mine was determined. From that day onward. I started to cut down playing of games and study more and get ready for SA1 to prove to my parents I can do well like when I was in P4. My name is Tom. I failed  Math at CA1 and my parents were disappointed as I had done pretty well in P4 SA2 but at P5 CA1, I dropped a lot from P4 . They also scolded me  and told me to do better at SA1.  I was confident at the start of the exam but when Mr Lee gave back the exam paper, seeing his face just before receiving my paper,it was clearly written on his face that I had not done well.I slowly turned my gaze away from him in shame,not daring to look him in the eyes as my trembling hand scrunched the paper he passed to me .When I saw my marks, 20/100 for my Math, I felt the whole world collapsing upon me.