Friday, October 17, 2008

Exam Breeds

I see that people tag me just to see me update. Hyuk. What? It's exam season. And I have spent the last few days liberally burning jars and jars of midnight oil despite the fact that the Earth's oil supply is slowly running out...

The worst of the papers are over so now I can look back and see how humorous the whole thing was. Of course, it wasn't at all funny at the time...

EXAM BREEDS
(based on what I hear and experience myself, so I've probably missed out some other kinds)
- The disciplined, kuai-kuai, good girls
They have the sense to study early and sleep way before 1 a.m. They know how to arrange their time well, they started studying about a month ago (maybe two) and they are the most calm before the papers.
dot dot dot
-Bursts out laughing- I'm sorry... know anyone like that?

- The Pull-All-Nighters and Sleep-All-'Day-ers'
You know who you are. :-) I found your recap of your sleeping schedule very interesting. All night long on Sunday, all night long on Monday, slept all day long on Tuesday and studied all night long again. Lots and lots of coffee involved. I'm admire that you actually look so fresh and bouncy in the morning. But then again, you look fresh and bouncy every morning. And mostly throughout the day. Especially when Meryl Streep is around.
Now everyone knows who I am talking about. MUAKS, darling. I don't find you amusing. I find you interesting and a very fun character. I can see you giving me the death glare as you read this.
But I digress.
Despite all this, these kind of students still do perfectly well in the exams. Hence, the last-minute studying theory works for some but doesn't work for others. So choose according to your needs! :P (trying to make sure I don't get in trouble here...)

-The Doze-Off-and-On-Regularly-Through-the-Night-With-Textbooks-Covering-Their-Faces
or
-I-Will-Do-This-No-Matter-What
The name speaks for itself. Stamina not as high as the all-nighter one. I think the little naps count for small recharging times... Gotta admire your will power. Again, you know who you are.

- The To-Hell-With-It-I-Don't-Care-Anymore
Hehe. Again, you know who you are, having said those exact words to me. These kinds study well, but when a certain 'boiling point' is reached, books get thrown aside with a 'blah!' and they go online and channel out the frusrations.

- The Study-Until-the-Very-Last-Minute
Very common I would say. Books stay glued in the hand from the house (even when changing and brushing teeth perhaps...) in the car/bus and all the way to class, up to the moment the exam starts. Many discussions are held with fellow students, checking facts with one another in a frenzy. I think there's a bit of that in all of us.

Then, there's me. At least it was like this for this exam. Mid year was kind of similar but not as bad. I think this week was the worst for me. But as I said earlier, looking back, I can laugh. Although at the time I probably felt more like crying. XD

I think I'd call myself the:
'Insaf'-Procrastinator-But-It's-Too-Late-To-Be-Sorry
which results in:
'The-Exam-Strategist- (Which I see in a couple other people too)

First, I have said this to myself half a dozen times in the past week, at 1 a.m in the morning:
'Whoever is listening up there, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry... I will never, never, never ever (don't hold me up on that though... :P) leave revision this late again!!' -sighs and flips textbook page with an expression of utter defeat-

And then, the desperate strategist kicks in.
'Ok, if I wake up at 3 pm, I can finish 3 chapters before dinner (provided I hurry). After dinner, I have to finish another 4 chapters (starts to panic). I should be done by 1 a.m, because I wouldn't be able to last any longer. I can go to bed and wake up at 5 a.m and finish reading Chapter 9 and 10... then, I once I come home from school, I am going to sleep for an hour and begin the same cycle all over again. Alright. Let's go.' -cracks knuckles, all gung-ho-

Therefore, I have come to the conclusion that exam season also bring out the best strategists in the worst of procrastinators.

School life is great, ain't it not?

Pffft.

At the end of the day, exams? Unavoidable. Swotting hard? Inevitable. A few years off our life span? Probably. Or at least a few more white hairs.
But heck, it's school life and every moment should be taken as a blessing. Or at least, take the fun moments as the blessing and blank out after exams by writing a long post laughing about it.
How we face the papers are one thing. The results are another, but now is not the time to discuss that.
Heh, come to think of it... we suffer now, the teacher's suffer later. I mean, our papers have to end up somewhere while we celebrate, right? Kinda makes me think of 'Energy cannot be created or destroyed, but can be converted from one form to another'

Student stress + Exam papers --------------> Teacher stress + Exam papers

Heh. This looks like precipitation through double decomposition.

ARGHHH!! STOP! STOP! It's over for goodness sake.

And I'm not doing the tag yet btw. Gonna go eat dinner first. And sleep for at least 12 hours tonight.

5 comments:

questmaster said...

L.O.L. I like my style best. It's the most practical, I think. I know what you mean -- I think Ms. Ho will take an eternity over our maths and add maths papers again. wahahahhaa....

Esther said...

I think i'm one of those
I-don't-really-know-what-i-am-but-i-think-i'm-a-little-of-each people. heh. God bless you at accounts!

Anonymous said...

lol. cute theories.. wahahaha..
mine is pretty much the same as urs.
but of cos, ur results are like wayyyyy higher than mine.. so, it's a different story ade.. =)

good luck for acc tmr!

Anonymous said...

Wah, you dedicated a part of your post to me ah! I am so touched! Hee! :D I LOVE YOU BB. YOU ARE AWESOME. :D

MUAKS.

and for the record, i am not giving you the death glare at all.

Anonymous said...

-The Doze-Off-and-On-Regularly-Through-the-Night-With-Textbooks-Covering-Their-Faces
or
-I-Will-Do-This-No-Matter-What

Darn..
Is that supposed to be me? But then again, a beanbag is a wee bit too comfortable to study in. Trust me ;)

And ugh... there's a silly error. I can't even post this under my LJ acc.

Tricia