"NMAT: The Verdict"

I just learned my NMAT result yesterday, earlier than I expected (CEM informed us during the exam that the electronic copy of the NMAT result would be posted 10 working days after the exam on their website), and up until now, I've been brooding about what the heck has happened to my score. I prepared so much for the exam to get an 85+ that might have given me a chance to receive a possible scholarship or if I was lucky enough, a 90+ percentile rank that might have pushed me one step closer to my dream of entering UPCM (UP College of Medicine), which is every aspiring doctor's dream, I suppose. However, things really happen for a reason and in my case, destiny betrayed my own plans and timing. I got a 72 percentile rank, which means that I belong to the upper 28% of those who took the test last April and 72% scored lower than me. Good enough for me to enter most of the medical schools in the metro but not good enough to get me a scholarship or enter my dream school.

           I've always been told that it's better to aim for perfection but miss it rather than aim for imperfection  and achieve it. It's one good proverb that has molded my attitude towards 'aiming high'. However, people often overlook the fact that 'aiming high' is also about taking risk, and more often than not, people become frustrated and devastated if they didn't meet their expectations. True enough, 'aiming high but expecting less' is one good strategy to avoid self-devastation from an unmet expectations. Perhaps God wants me to take a bird's eye view of the situation and find for myself the next step I'm going to take from here. Maybe Medicine is not for me or this is not yet the right time for me to pursue such profession. I'm currently planning to retake NMAT this April and take my review and preparation to a higher level. I'm really desperate to at least get a scholarship because I'm not an "anak ng Diyos" (rich kid) to just leave this as it is and not do anything to alleviate my parents' financial burden just in case I'm going to pursue Med right after my graduation. And if upon trying the second time and I stumble again, I will just take it as nature's way of telling me that I'm taking the wrong path in life. Maybe that's how life really goes. But for me, NMAT is just a requirement and will not define a person's real intelligence or wisdom. If I will base it on my own goal and expectation, there will be no doubt that I really failed the exam. But life is not about winning all the time. I will try my luck again and maybe next time, God will really give what my heart desires. As for now, I will stick to another essential maxim of life: Winners never quit, and quitters never win.