Work hard: How I got 2 Distinctions in 6 months

By Darius Soyer. After doing CXC exams in June 2020, my results were not what I expected. I was severely disappointed in myself and admittedly I was discouraged to work hard and make things right. I took almost a year after receiving my results to “find myself” aka hiding from responsibilities.

Filled with a lot of video games and distractions, 9 months quickly passed. I realised that this is not something I could do forever, especially as I turned 18 and I was automatically being treated differently than just 2 months prior. I decided to make a change.

Work hard: How I got 2 Distinctions in 6 months 5

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The change to work hard and make it right

New mentality

In July 2021, I began attending Study Zone Institute with a new mentality and a drive to accomplish 2 new subjects that seemed truly interesting to me. I chose Principles of Business and Principles of Accounts. Every weekday at 8:30 am, I would attend classes until 2:30 pm. I was allowed to learn at my own pace and was motivated to work hard.

Maintaining a social life

I continued playing games and maintaining a social life while still attending school. Eventually, the work began getting harder as I was trying to complete it in way less time than the required 2 years. I realised that I couldn’t just work hard, I also had to work smart!

Using videos and textbooks

I began using more resources to study after classes like YouTube videos from channels like Study Zone Institute, Kerwin Springer and mostly adapttuition. After a couple of weeks, I learned the basic formats and definitions through my own acronyms and learning techniques. A lot of exercises were done repeatedly from textbooks written by Frank Wood.

Doing past papers

While still having time to play games and mostly having the syllabus completed, I took it upon myself to begin doing past papers. This helped me to gain experience with the questions they brought so I could prepare myself to answer them correctly.

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Learning from mistakes

I spent each day for 5 months watching YouTubers correcting past papers and teaching how to properly answer the questions. In the 6th month, I began attempting past papers on my own and improving by learning from the mistakes. Taking the exams in January 2022 was a breeze.

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After the exam

I waited for 2 months before I was given the results in March 2022. I was proud of myself for achieving 2 Distinctions, one in Principles of Accounts and the other in Principles of Business in just 6 months. I proceeded to find my next step in my academic journey.

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In conclusion

No matter who you are or where you are from, having faith in yourself and being driven to accomplish your goals goes a long way. Always strive to improve, work hard, and whether you do it alone or with help shouldn’t matter, as long as you have tried your best.

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