<p>
	I only learned to appreciate education after quitting school.</p>
<p>
	I dropped out of school at the age of 18. It was December 2012, the year I was to sit the Leaving Cert.</p>
<p>
	I realised half way through sixth year that I had no chance of passing my exams, so I decided that enough was enough.</p>
<p>
	Coming from a socially disadvantaged background, failure all too often seemed inevitable.</p>
<p>
	But since leaving school, I have travelled and worked all over the world, made good money, met incredible people, had amazing adventures &ndash; and never looked back.</p>
<p>
	When I eventually returned to education, I did so because I had found something I loved and was good at. For the first time, I was learning because I wanted to.</p>
<p>
	Enrolling in that PLC course helped me realise that my true strengths had been buried for a long time.</p>
<p>
	I went on to attend university &ndash; something I never thought I&rsquo;d be capable of doing &ndash; and am now a qualified professional and community worker.</p>
<p>
	And I&rsquo;ll always remember how a lecturer, in one of my first weeks in college, told us we&rsquo;d need to forget virtually everything we&rsquo;d learned in school if we were to do well in third-level education.</p>
<p>
	Disappointment</p>
<p>
	Students across the country will be hurrying to get ready for college after the Leaving Cert results are announced next week.</p>
<p>
	And we will all see the yearly batch of articles rightly congratulating those who achieved 600 points.</p>
<p>
	But it is also around this time of year that students disappointed with their results will start to panic.</p>
<p>
	Many will settle for an unattractive CAO option, while others decide to repeat the exam.</p>
<p>
	Class differences</p>
<p>
	What has to be remembered is that results all too often reflect social class differences rather than capability.</p>
<p>
	Young people from economically disadvantaged backgrounds are more likely to be distracted from study by issues including abuse, neglect, hunger, addiction and mental health issues.</p>
<p>
	And so those with a relatively stable life outside of school, a solid support network and access to expensive grinds will inevitably do better than those without.</p>
<p>
	If you&rsquo;re disappointed with your results, remember that it&rsquo;s only your first experience of education, and that you&rsquo;ll have plenty of future opportunities to learn and grow.</p>
<p>
	Exams don&rsquo;t define your life or future. After all, I never sat my Leaving Cert &ndash; and I survived.</p>
<p>
	Michael O&rsquo;Donnell is a community worker and student at University College Cork.</p>
<p>
	<a href="http://www.thejournal.ie/readme/leaving-cert-results-dropping-out-of-school-2252081-Aug2015/">http://www.thejournal.ie/readme/leaving-cert-results-dropping-out-of-school-2252081-Aug2015/</a></p>
