When I was around twelve (Grade 7), I moved to a new school. This brought significant changes and a range of variables — new school, no friends, a change in the Board (and syllabus), and so on.

In the first term, I quickly made friends and settled into the routine, but my grades plummeted. This was odd because I felt I was putting in the same effort as at my older school, yet my scores were dismal. What I didn’t realise was that the academic rigour was now significantly higher.

Barely three weeks into the school year, during a Math period, we were given a surprise test. I hadn’t reviewed the portions covered thus far and I failed the test. My class teacher summoned me and asked me to get the paper reviewed by my parents and signed.

As luck would have it, my father was travelling, so I needed to show it to my mother. I was petrified of her reaction and unsure what punishment awaited me.

She glanced at the marks, then looked at me calmly. “What happened?” For once, I didn’t invent an excuse. “I wasn’t revising the daily portions,” I admitted.

That’s when she shared something that would shape my outlook forever — “When you try something new,” she said, “there’s an even chance — fifty-fifty — of success or failure. But you can tilt the odds. Focus. Prepare. Even if you don’t hit the bullseye the first time, you’ll land closer and gain strength for the next round.”

It was a simplistic view of the odds, but it was exactly what I needed to convince myself that I had what it took to excel. Thereafter, my grades improved steadily, and by Grade 9, I was in the top five of my class.