[l]how do I keep going when it feels like the universe is against me?
Okay. I've been carrying this feeling for almost a year now, and I don't know if anyone else has experienced something similar. About a year ago, I got caught cheating in an exam. I was really sick the day before, and I panicked and made a terrible choice. I regretted it immediately and promised myself I wouldn't do that again. Since that incident, I've tried to be honest in every exam, to study properly and work hard. But ever since, it feels like no matter how much effort I put in, something goes wrong. One time during a lab exam, I accidentally wrote the wrong question number. I realized it, explained it to the teacher, even solved the correct question in the given time. She understood at the time, but later I still lost around 40 marks because of that error. And another time, after a disagreement with a teacher during a viva, I felt like she held a grudge and cut my marks. Now, my latest exam has completely broken me. I studied this subject for almost two months, finished the syllabus early, and revised for three days straight before the exam. I walked out expecting around 90%. Instead, I barely passed.
I'm shocked at the result that I've already applied for revaluation. And the hardest part isn't even the marks. It's feeling like every time I put in sincere effort, something outside my control undermines it. Meanwhile, I see people around me getting the results they hope for. It makes me wonder, how do I keep going when it feels like the universe is against me?