This month Abi has been feeling reflective and philosophical about life, identity and justice, following recent challenges with her exams at college. It’s been tough.

After facing a huge set back- also known as my failing A level grades, I itch for further law or policy work experience and ways to upgrade my knowledge. Whilst our world tears itself apart to compromise justice, democracy and human rights for money, reading up on bite size summaries about the philosophical and political dilemmas we see today keeps me sane!

I’ve begun reading Tom B Bowdon’s 50 Philosophy Classics, which summaries famous texts on the biggest philosophical questions. Three uncanny dilemmas from the book include M. Sandel’s debate that a just society does not make nepotism (the place, family, race to which you are born) the baseline of success, but rather meritocracy, Noam Chomsky’s discussion on the corrupting nature of power and ‘how most wars are designed to take attention away from the domestic situation’ and PD Harvey’s  observation of ‘Government Creep’, where government power increases and individual freedom is confined.

Applying these observations to debate is a fun past-time (to me) and great practice for the skills required in my upcoming degree courses. Finding other ways to practice my strong academic abilities helps me retain the confidence I need for further education, even as I am in its beginning stages.

So, on a grey September afternoon, I write in the interests of young people disappointed by their academic results.

Have some well-deserved rest (yes, even when you aren’t necessarily exerting yourself physically enough at the moment), you need to decompress, before looking to strategize a Plan B. Read, watch, observe, do anything to get that ball rolling again!

We might have failed this time – but let us keep our dreams a part of the plan!

Abi

Did you know that Somerset Youth Parliament isn’t just it’s elected members? Any young person in Somerset aged 10-25 years can become a member of the Somerset Youth Parliament Advisory Group.

For more information about becoming a member of the Somerset Youth Parliament Advisory Group and to join, visit our Join Us page.