HSC results are out and congratulations to year 12s who did themselves, their parents and schools proud.
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But while a disappointing HSC score may feel like the end of the world, amazingly, it isn't.
At age 18, ask anyone in their twenties or thirties (or older!) if they think you're too old to have another go at the HSC or embark on an alternative study or career path. They'll ask if you're joking.
Fear not, countless stories abound of people whose HSC scores hardly set the world on fire yet they are achieving in many areas of life, whether the measure of success be professional, financial, spiritual, emotional or physical.
And many will tell you they learnt more in a week on the job than in the three years of university studying to do that job.
It is amazing the number of people you run into who never had to produce proof of a single HSC nor degree testamur when applying for their jobs, whose bosses have no idea they actually left school in year 7. Well, maybe year 10.
Indeed, the school of hard knocks and the university of life do not require an HSC mark and are certainly a cheaper alternative to many tertiary institutions.
Not to take anything away from those who blitzed the HSC.
Recent times have seen an emerging ideology that paints academic excellence as elitist and suggests we give everybody a trophy for turning up (or not), but there is much to celebrate in an excellent HSC score.
Because rather than sheer luck, a good HSC score is most likely the by-product of sacrifice, hard work and perseverance - all qualities that add value for a lifetime, not just a year.