PREPARING for an examination, especially one that can alter your future career and plans, can be stressful. However, it could be double the anxiety and nervousness if it is written during a global pandemic.

For 16-year-old Beyonce Gual, the 2021 Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examinations were not the walk in the park she had hoped they would have been.

Despite the many challenges, the aspiring forensic psychologist emerged successful. She secured six Grade Ones, six Grade Twos, one Grade Three and one Grade Four.

The former St. Rose’s High student, like many others, was forced to quickly adjust her daily routine to accommodate online classes due to the COVID-19 pandemic. That, in particular, was a challenge, since it took some time for her to get used to same.

“Leading up to the examinations, we were hit with the COVID-19 pandemic. My mom is a single parent so it hit my family incredibly hard. We had to purchase computers, tablets and other devices and the assignments were increasing and the teaching wasn’t at its best,” she told the Guyana Chronicle.

“With the COVID-19 hitting and not having enough face-to-face interaction, it was impossible for me to have taken lessons,” she added.

The pandemic became even more stressful, after she tested positive for the virus which forced her to temporally drop out of her classes so that she could concentrate on her recovery.

“I was sick, I had a fever, I couldn’t smell, I couldn’t taste…I would sit in my bed and I would cry and I just wanted it to be over,” Gual recalled.

Additionally, having to spend three weeks recovering from the virus saw her slacking behind with her School-Based Assessments (SBAs) which were an integral part of the CSEC.

“It was a really terrible time for me. I missed out on a lot of my SBAs. I fell back on a lot of my teachings and it was really hard,” she said, adding that it left her questioning her ability to excel since she felt as though she had very little time to prepare.

The teen explained that the anxiety of being ill coupled with the stress associated with preparing for her examinations led her into a depressive state.

“My mom had lost her job and it was incredibly hard for my home at that time. There was also a lot of challenges at school, including my COVID-19 incident which all led up to me falling into a very bad depressive state,” she told this publication.

Refusing to let the challenges of life get the best of her, Beyonce entered each of her examinations with a positive spirit. She also had abundant support from her loved ones, which she believed contributed greatly to her success.

“It was a tough ride but after writing my examinations I felt relieved,” she said.

Meanwhile, in sharing words of encouragement to any teen or adult who may be going through a tough time or suffering from a mental illness, Beyonce said: “To anyone who is also suffering from the same thing that I did, I would like to say that it gets better. If you are feeling unworthy or even doubting yourself or feeling like you are not enough, seek help.”

She reiterated that seeking help or simply speaking to a loved one, friend or confidant can go a long way in recovery and getting over depression.