The Panhellenic Exams as a Success
Facing the relentless pressure of Greece’s Panhellenic exams, a parent reflects on personal struggles and urges students to persevere, highlighting education’s vital role in securing a prosperous future.
My youngest daughter is taking the Panhellenic written exams. My own anxiety is immense. Of course, I try not to transfer it to my child. I vividly recalled my own demanding exam years.
The first year I took part, I did not take it seriously and was admitted to a small school in the provinces. My father, a manual labor craftsman, was disappointed. He told me that if I did not manage to enter a university in Athens on my second attempt, he would take me to work with him.
That was when I fully realized I had to get serious, and that the decisions I made at that moment would shape my entire future. I heard other friends say how “unfair” it was that at the age of 18 they had to determine their life’s path.
I understood how wrong they were. Until a few decades ago, people were making life-defining decisions (marriage, children, profession) even younger than the legal adult age of 18! Also, regarding the comforting stereotype “it doesn’t matter if you don’t enter university; no one is lost,” I realized—with the help of my craftsman father and nurse mother—that this was not entirely accurate.
The statistics are ruthless: the more educated a citizen is, the greater their chances of being financially comfortable and navigating life with ease.
This does not mean that all of our fellow citizens with lower levels of education are poor. Obviously, there are thousands of professionals who may even be wealthier than an average doctor or lawyer. But Greek society deeply understands that the optimal path for a young person in life passes through the fields of academic knowledge, and every parent wishes the best for their descendants.
I wholeheartedly wish every young person taking the Panhellenic exams good luck, and may they study what they themselves desire. If they do not succeed in the exams but have the strength and determination, then they should try again to enter the university community, so as to increase their chances for financial security and intellectual fulfillment on life’s journey.
Don’t readily listen to voices that discourage you by saying alternative life paths are more balanced. Devote yourself persistently to your goal and complete your university studies. The world belongs to you.
