Judgement day

It was judgement day, OP Day the day I found out my score to get into uni. I did everything I could to avoid being at home when the postman came with that big white envelope. But even procrastinating didn't make the time go any faster.

The postman eventually came around 4pm, very late for him. All the expectations of my parents, friends, school and myself all had an impact on how I was feeling at that moment. Terrified. I opened the envelope and didn't get a fantastic score.  I threw the piece of paper that said to me that I thought I was a failure on the floor, pushed over the chair that stood in my way, burst into tears and ran up into my room. Away from everyone and everything. I didn't want to talk to anyone. I saw how disappointed my family was looking at me, but I don't think they knew how disappointed I was.

All of the expectations for me to get into uni had been blown out the window. I felt as if I had to get a job and work for the rest of my life without a tertiary education, and this was something very hard to deal with. Everyone always told me I wouldn't get anywhere without a degree and that piece of paper. To a huge extent going to uni was the next step in my life after school and it was all I had thought about since I first stepped into highschool. I felt I couldn't get into uni with my OP.

About two days after the envelope was opened and I had emerged back out of my room. My dad sat me down and told me there was another way I could achieve my goal. I didn't believe him, getting my OP made me feel like crap. It made me feel like a loser. I was comparing myself to my friends. I explained to my dad that I felt I had let him down, he always told me that he wanted his only daughter to go to uni as well, not just his sons. With this added expectation and pressure it just made me feel that I had let my biggest fan and the person I admire the most down.

So when dad told me of the other option of doing a Bachelor of Arts first, then upgrading into my desired course, I resisted. It wasn't what I wanted and I explained to my dad that I would prefer to work than do a uni course I didn't want to do.

Dad allowed me to think it over and I researched the degree and some of the course interested me and there was a very good possibility at the end of the year to get into what I wanted to do.

So I changed my preferences and at 1.30 in the morning I rang up the hotline to find out if I got into uni, and I did and this year sees me complete my degree after I changed over to my original choice. I will be in the first group of graduates to have ever completed the degree. My dad was there to help me and reassure me along the way. He gave me his knowledge and his belief in me that I could achieve if I wanted to and by finishing my degree has proved to myself that I can achieve what I set out to do in the very beginning. An added bonus is he will be there on stage in his academic dress when I get my piece of paper.