An Unexpected Strategy

An Unexpected Strategy

Introduction

Hey everyone! Ever had that one school year that felt like the ultimate challenge? For me, that was 10th grade. If you’ve been through it, you know the pressure! I was a pretty good student—like a fisherman reeling in his catch—but even then, the thought of board exams was terrifying. We all heard the rumors: “10th grade defines your future!” With that in mind, exams felt less like tests and more like a staircase leading to a high-stakes future.

Introduction


The First Step: Facing the Fear

It all started with the Half-Yearly exams. And guess what? The first exam was English—talk about bad luck! A brand-new pattern was introduced, and none of us had a clue about it. When I saw the paper, I felt like someone had stamped “Big Fail” on my forehead. No kidding! That was the moment we realized: Board exams weren’t going to be as easy as passing grades 8 and 9.

From that day onward, reality hit us hard. We couldn’t just memorize answers anymore—we had to understand them. And so, for the first time in our lives, we bought reference books. Sounds funny, right? But it wasn’t. It was survival. We had to actually study, practice, and work hard. The exams continued, and finally, it was time for Mathematics—the one subject I loved. It should’ve been a piece of cake, but no matter how hard I tried, I never managed to score a perfect 100%. Silly mistakes always brought me down to 96 or 98. And if you’re wondering, “Why didn’t you just practice more?”—trust me, I had been practicing since 6th grade. But somehow, the silly mistakes never left me.

The Final Step: The Ultimate Test

Fast forward to our final semester exams—I was pumped! I believed I would ace everything and grab the top spot. But as the Mathematics exam approached, I started to feel nervous. I had been preparing for a month, constantly reminding myself, “You are the best! No one is better at Math than you—not even Srinivasa Ramanujan or Isaac Newton!” And yet, there was one chapter that still haunted me: Surface Area and Volume.

The Final Step: The Ultimate TestThe Final Step: The Ultimate Test



D-Day: The Mathematics Exam

The big day arrived. At 9:15 AM, we received the question papers. Instead of panicking, I was relieved. The paper looked easy! At 9:30 AM, I began writing. By 11:00 AM, I had finished the subjective section and moved on to the objective questions, wrapping them up by 11:30 AM. We had a total of three hours, which meant I had a full hour left for rechecking.

And that’s when it happened. While reviewing my answers, I found a question from Surface Area and Volume. Suddenly, doubt crept in. Was my multiplication correct? Had I made a mistake? Instead of trusting my initial answer, I panicked and redid the calculation—incorrectly! With just five minutes left, I had a choice to make: Should I change my answer and risk everything, or settle for 98%?

Well, I took the risk. I corrected my answer and hoped for the best.

The Final Verdict

Results day arrived. My heart pounded as I checked my Math score—98%. I was thrilled! But when I reviewed my answer sheet, I found my mistake: I had written the sum of 23 and 45 as 67. Seriously?! After all that effort, a tiny mistake had cost me my perfect score.

What I Learned (and What You Can Too!)

So, what’s the moral of the story?

  • Perfection is a journey, not a destination.
  • Trust yourself! Overthinking can sometimes be more dangerous than the mistake itself.
  • Mistakes don’t define you, but learning from them does      

  • What I Learned (and What You Can Too!)

Have you ever made a silly mistake in an exam that you still think about? Share your story in the comments—I’d love to hear it!

                                                                            Thank you   
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