My education was dismal. I went to a series of schools for mentally disturbed teachers.
Most lives are not distinguished by great achievements. They are measured by an infinite number of small ones. Each time you do a kindness for someone or bring a smile to his face, it gives your life meaning. Never doubt your value, little friend. The world would be a dismal place without you in it. (tweaked version of a passage from Scandal in Spring)
It is dismal coming home, when there is nobody to welcome one!
The play was a great success, but audience was a dismal failure.