This I believe in the will to go it alone

Someone somewhere once said whether the prize be a ribbon or a throne, the victor is he who could go it alone.

I believe in the will to go it alone. Three times as a schoolboy, I confronted a decision alone whether I was prepared to devise, pursue and execute a strategy with brilliance and ruthlessness. In September 1993, pursuant to my mother's advice and in light of Hong Kong’s uncertain political situation at that time, I decided to return to Canada to complete my secondary education. Unfortunately, it was a disaster that nearly wreaked any hope of me attending college. In fact, I frequently compared it to Napoleon Bonaparte's decision to invade Russia and his subsequent retreat from Moscow, only worse. Early Monday morning in January 1994, my academic counselor from my old school and I discussed my available options to resolving my worst academic crisis. My mother and my most ardent supporters within the teaching faculty advised me to re-take Year 10 and delay my GCSE external examination by a year. I reasoned privately that nothing might be gained by taking my GCSE examinations in June 1995 than five months later. A group of unknown examiners in London who know nothing of my circumstances would mark those exams, which determined 60 to 80 percent of my final grade in any given subject. My entire academic future rested on successfully passing these exams. My counselor agreed to finalize my decision after ascertaining what the projected results would be under a worst case scenario, if I took them that June.

My mother recommended accepting her suggestion as it provided an instantaneous solution to this crisis. I reminded everyone that I have a week before I leave for Canada and that spending eight hours assessing all the options would be useful. Late that afternoon, my counselor confirmed my belief that my subject teachers thought it was academically viable. I needed five GCSE credits to pass and four of my eventual eight credits were definitively in the bag. I knew I could swing the double award general science from a probable carry in January to definitive carry in June, if I worked hard in the next few months, and the last two I needed a bit of luck at the exam to pass. I knew that my worst skeptics would call any delay as a sign of my academic insecurity regardless of circumstances. My counselor told my mother that, given the stakes involved, I should be allowed to make this decision on my own, without her influence. Against her judgment, I decided that I would take my GCSE examination that June and take the fire out of their belly in one bold stroke. I subsequently dropped GCSE History citing the workload would have been insurmountable.

The moment of truth came in August when the results from the June examinations were released. I have successfully passed all seven subjects. That is why I believe in the will to go it alone.