Coping with Exam Results

This Thursday, teenagers all over England are receiving their GCSE exam results, myself included. This can be a highly anticipated day which can cause a lot of worries and stress in the time leading up to it. I expected myself to get extremely stressed around exam time but to my surprise, I stayed weirdly calm, probably more so than nearly all my friends. I have the same attitude towards results day but I know a lot of my friends are the opposite. I figured there must be a lot of you out there who are getting nervous, so here are a few things to remember that stop me worrying.

Your exam results do not determine your success. Being good at exam papers does not make you better than anyone else and people have all sorts of talents that exams don't test. There are people who are seen as the world's most successful who probably didn't do great at school, so don't go thinking that you can't still achieve.
Not every result matters. Yes, it's fab if you managed to do well in your results all-round, but if you want to go into a career in medicine, it's not a problem if you didn't get an A in English Literature. If you want to go into fashion and didn't pass Textiles, there are still opportunities to resit exams that are important to you.
You don't need to compare yourself to other people. If you were happy with your C and your friends got Bs, it really doesn't matter. Your goals have nothing to do with anyone else. People often focus on those who did better than them, but remember that there are also people who didn't excel in that subject as much as you did.
No one else needs to know what your results are. If you're a bit embarrassed about that A* in Biology or that U in Maths, they don't need to be mentioned. Sure your college or future employers will want to know, but they've seen a whole range of exam results and yours are unlikely to be anything new. 
Don't focus on the bad. Maybe you studied really hard for subject and didn't quite get what you wanted (I've been there) but you have other things to celebrate. Be happy with your B in French or your A in Geography, there's no need to wrap yourself up in disappointment. If you're not the best academically, then think of ways to improve on the things that matter to you and use it as a motivation to do better on your resit, if you are choosing to take the exam again.
You can learn from your mistakes. If you're looking at your results thinking "I wish I'd started studying sooner for that" then do so with your A Levels. If you're not going to college, you could put effort into focusing better during your apprenticeship, for example.
It's okay to be proud of yourself. Some people can be wary of showing off and for that reason like to keep things quiet, but if you're impressed with yourself, it's fine to say so (as long as you don't go on about it, of course). Maybe buy yourself a new pair of heels afterwards as a treat. You got yourself through your exams, and you deserve it.
The hype will be over after a couple of weeks. There will be a period where results seem to be all everyone talks about, but in a month's time, chances are they'll hardly be mentioned. If the constant chatter about results is a bit much for you, just take yourself away from social media for a bit and relax. You could even have friends over with a 'no exam talk' policy to give everyone a bit of a break.

It might be a good idea to plan what you're going to do after receiving your results. If you'd rather be alone that's fine, but I personally find myself over-thinking when I'm alone, so my friends and I have planned to go round to someone's house where's we're just going to chill and catch up with each other whilst looking forward to the after-exam party on Saturday. A takeaway with the family or a shopping trip are good ideas, too.
Finally, I wish everyone the best of luck for results day, and remember that all you can do is your best, and you can't ask for any more than that. Thank you for reading, Tasha xo