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A bitter lesson in failure | Essay for 10 year olds | Elijah Wee | Singapore


Here is another one of my works "A bitter lesson in failure" ... 



            Justin was utterly disappointed.

            Bitter tears rolled down his cheeks as he glanced over his overall results. His results were most appalling. Justin’s best friend, mean Matthew, could not stop laughing at the form teacher, Mrs Lim’s comments in Justin’s report book. It read, “Justin is a bright spark but is simply plain lazy. He must work extremely hard for the upcoming SA2 examinations if he wants to stay in the top class.” Feeling utterly down with the comments, he did not bother to tell Matthew off for laughing at him. Just then, memories of the days preceding the return of the report book came flooding back to Justin’s mind.

            Justin was in his room, revising for the SA1 examinations. Desperately rummaging through his mountain high pile of books and notes, he found his revision to be very much like having to venture up a creek without a paddle. Just then, a thought entered Justin’s mind. Given how I had been studying so far – don’t I deserve a good break to relax? He thought to himself. Confident that his examinations that year would be a breeze, he brushed aside his nagging conscience to return to his studies and played After stealing a glance at the good luck note his mother had given him, he continued playing.

            However, it was a totally different case during the examinations. In fact, Justin could not even answer a single question!

            Justin was dreadfully worried. His fingers holding the pen were turning jelly as though they were being weighed down by a ton of bricks. The look on the presiding examiner’s face did not help either. The skin on her face was as thin and drawn as the skin of an onion and her eyes were grey and sharp like the points of two picks. Unrelenting …

            “Ring …. Ring!” The shrill and incessant ringing of the school bell startled Justin back into the world of reality. Justin packed his school bag, his face as glum as an oyster. While the rest of the class were exchanging answers and chatting away, Justin spent his time alone as he lined up. He regretted his actions.

            On reaching home, his parents, Mr and Mrs Tan took one look at their son’s report book and hell broke loose. Justin had to endure the hour-long scolding from his parents. Justin was too upset to move and he stood rooted to the ground for a minute or so after being beaten with a thin long cane.

            Time marches to the beat of its own drum. Justin has certainly learnt it the hard way. He promised his parents to turn over a new leaf and to study hard for his SA2 examination and all the other examinations that followed.

Failures come at times when we let our guard down and grow complacent. Any experiences to share?

 If you like reading this, you may also like ... 

  1. "A painful lesson for not studying" by Elijah Wee
  2. "Unforgettable lesson - do not overeat!" by Elijah Wee
  3. "What happens when you turn a deaf ear to your elders?" by Elijah Wee
  4. "Caught red-handed stealing in school" by Elijah Wee
  5. "The food poisoning incident" by Elijah Wee
  6. "What a birthday present!" by Kooi Xiu Min

 See you soon!
Elijah Wee, Singapore

 Photo credit: Behrooz Nobakht / Foter / CC BY-NC-ND

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