How did you do in your GCSEs? Not too great? Nor did I.

I remembering watching most of my friends do really well. They were flying high, with everything mapped out. They were, in my eyes, smarter, better organised, more capable of understanding what I could not and as a result I worried that I would amount to very little. I regretted not working harder and felt it was too late. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do.

But deep within all of that was a determination not to let my future be dictated for me, certainly not by a ‘D’ in maths, or an ‘E’ in science. And that’s the thing: no matter what age you are you decide the life you lead, the path you take, the experiences you make. Not a piece of paper or whether or not you know the square root of 100 (I still don’t know or care for that matter).

I am 30 later this year and yet those teenage years seem like yesterday. I look back on those anxious days following my GCSEs and wonder why I let myself get so worked up. I respect every single person who excels in whatever area they choose to study but I also respect those who do it alone. It is not easy but if you believe in yourself you can achieve anything. If you have a burning desire to do something then just do it and don’t look back. Don’t stop, keep at it, don’t complain and don’t explain. You are doing this for you, not those around you.

Life is not about the exams you take, the results you get or the school or college you end up in or miss out on. It is about the memorable moments with family and friends; the birthday parties, the road trips, the Sunday lunches. It’s about turning your favourite music up loud, it is about walking through a forest in the Autumn and hearing the crunch of the leaves under your feet, it is about the DVD nights, the lazy weekends, it is about buying your first car, boarding your first flight, meeting that special person, starting a family or making a house a home.

In the years since my poor GCSE results I have learned, laughed, cried and lived. If you didn’t do as well as you would have liked do not fear. This is just the beginning. And remember: you don't need a GCSE to watch the sunset, hang out with your best friend, read your favourite book, have tea with your Grandma or look at the stars. Life is for living.

Rodney Edwards is an award-winning journalist with The Impartial Reporter and best-selling author. He published his first book, Sure, Why Would Ye Not? in 2015.