This was a requested chapter from someone and I thought it was very fitting to write this now seeing as I am in the middle of exams myself!

We're told our whole school lives that grades matter. I've always been told that, and there comes a time every year where I get super stressed about grades because they matter. They're important. That's what I've always been told. It's what I've always known.

But how important are they actually? What's going to happen if you get a B rather than an A? What does that change about you?

A grade should not define you. In society they do to a certain extent (I can only speak for my experience in the UK); most jobs require at least a C in Maths and English, and to get into a good college you'll need decent grades. So they do matter to a degree, this chapter isn't about telling you that grades don't matter at all because for most of you reading this you'll need to rely on your grades probably at least once in your life to get something.

But you shouldn't let your grades take over your life. School should not become your life, and you shouldn't place a huge amount of pressure on yourself to achieve something to the point where you forget your own wellbeing.

You should always prioritise yourself and your wellbeing first, and then your work. If you're not mentally stable your grades won't be stable either.

It can seem like a very overwhelming thing, grades and exams and school, but take a step back whenever things become too much. Listen to music for ten minutes, watch a funny video, read a book. Relax. Let your brain calm down and rationalise the situation. Then continue on. Because who cares about that A* if you've become a shell of a human and lost all will to do anything by the end of it?

So rule sixty seven of surviving Teenagehood: even astronauts have to look after themselves before they reach for the stars