Monthly SimLit Short Story Challenge

"Dollyllama108;c-17057469" wrote:

"divanthesimmer;c-17055674" wrote:

Count me in! My brain simply could not understand Maths, but if I went back in time, I would've pushed myself a little more to be better (not only in Maths, but all the other subjects). When I graduated high school, my marks were mostly average and unfortunately you need distinctions to get into University here in South Africa (so the "you need it to get a job" was mostly true). The biggest problem was that I did bad in subjects that were related to my future job, like Engineering Graphics and Design (which also had the same concept as Maths). I then went to a private college where I was my own teacher half the time and had to do projects that I didn't even understand. After two years of studying, I graduated and took some time to focus on my driving and get my driver's licence and I failed numerous times, wasting another year of my life. Now, I am unemployed and have no idea where I'm going to get a job (as the ones available have requirements I don't meet), but in the meantime I write and read SimLit to lift my spirits (I've had some dark thoughts not too long ago).

Hey, I'm glad you're getting some catharsis out of this! I want you to know you're not alone. Since some of the most important qualities someone can have---creativity, drive, good intentions, strong ideology---aren't easily measured by tests, so many talented people go unnoticed when others choose to focus on garbage like numbers or looks. I wish I could say there's an easy solution. There isn't. You're not going to know what happens until it happens. But you should know you have something important to contribute, just like everyone else does, even if you have to claw and fight your way against the system to contribute it. So, so, so, so many people have gone through the same self-doubt and uncertainty you did, most likely even some of your personal heroes. Please, give yourself the proper respect for who you are and what you can do!

Oh, thank you for your very kind words, @Dollyllama108! I agree with everything you say. I think my Grade 6 Maths teacher said it best: it's not that I don't have the ability to do it, it's that I don't have enough self confidence. It's true - when I struggled to do certain things, I felt too embarrassed to ask for help. I just suffered in silence and it got me nowhere, but I'm gaining more self confidence as I'm getting older. There are many things I can't do, but there's just as many things I can do. I just need to believe in myself and I might just get where I want to be!