Exams and all that -A personal experience

A friend challenged or more like suggested  me to write a post on exam stress  when I had asked her for suggestions for my new post (Her first suggestion was something about the lives of film stars but I wasn’t too familiar with that one!) so I accepted the challenge although it wasn’t that hard because we just finished our exams so…. yea 
I know this post may sound a little bit dramatic, but I hope you like it 🙂

It’s 2:30 and I’ve been up all night doing major brain labor – yes, there is  a math exam the next day

How desperately I want to sleep, but no! I determine myself with a pep talk:

“You can’t sleep now, you have to review all those formulas and theorems and if you don’t you’ll end up regretting it. Just maybe that definition could win you a jackpot. Who knows? And oh boy do you need that jackpot!” says a voice in my head.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        Yep at this part I do sound like one of those nerds but I can assure I am not.

And so I go through what I can. Then the drowsiness gets more intense by the second, so I call it a night and pray with all my might for the paper to be as simple as ABC.

3:00 I head off to bed. Twisting and turning still unable to have a good night sleep occupied with all sorts of thoughts and then I finally dose off.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       My dreams not being an exception for the examination thoughts in my head. In my dream I was informed that my exam was canceled!  it was so real, so true, at this point I was blooming in joy I almost believed it until I was awaken by a brightly sharp fluorescent light in my face – it was just my sister who just entered the room and decided to open the light God knows why? all the burdening thoughts that miraculously  went away on hearing the false information suddenly began to creep back slowly.

Somehow I managed to get some much needed sleep and the next morning (or should I say a few hours later) it is time to head to school.

At the living room waiting for my Dad.Taking a long stare at my watch just waiting for all this to end “approx 5 hours till the end of missery hmmm not long I guess” I thought.                                                                                                                                                                                                  “Have you eaten?” my Mother asks interrupting my thoughts

At this moment I thought “have I eaten?If she could see the number of  360 degree turns my tummy is making right now she would think twice before asking”.

At this moment the examination nausea kicks in, just to the thought of food entering this tummy I guess.

“No” I replied.

“Why? Go have something” Mother demanded.                                                                              Then I dash to the kitchen and nibble on a miniature piece  of Irani bread/kubbus  or whatever they call it (yah the ones you get around or behind the Jameeyas/co ops) Just for my mother’s satisfaction although my tummy didn’t seem too accommodating  at the moment.

At the living room almost at the exit door I double check my backpack and make sure I have all my needs.

“aluru ko jeeko pass “ said Mother(my bad transliterations btw) which in my language translates to “May God make you pass”

“Ameoo” replies my Father which in my language translates to “Ameen”                                                                                                                            Prayers are truly the only thing that can save me right now

“Answer all the questions!and all the best” says Mother

“And read all the questions properly” says Father

And those were the departing words of my parents

At the exam center I took a good look around in the mixture of schools trying to locate my friends.

As I progressed forward towards the school I am merged into a big crowd but somehow I managed  finding my friends.     As usual before every exam we discussed about how totally freaked out we are and then get back to our books and again discuss how totally freaked out we are.Well, today was no exception, although for some reason everyone else looked very relaxed atleast not as freaked out as me!

I then take a look at this foreign surrounding. Since a very long time I feel this sort of a schooly feeling well, maybe thats because unlike my school there is an absence of this 24/7 surveillance cameras which makes me honestly feel like I am in some sort of  juvenile detention center. Sometimes I wonder who’s bright idea was that?

A sudden lightly fierce nudge from the crowd bring me away from my at the moment very irrelevant thoughts and back to reality:I HAVE AN EXAM TODAY.                                                                                                                                                                                                  And I got back to re-revising and flickering through the pages for the last time.

And then we were called in. As much as I really wanted to revise just an ency bit longer, I was forced to depart from my books.                                                                                                       Parents saying their good byes.Friends wishing others their very best, were  the scenes witnessed

As we approached the examination halls we were receiving our very last wishes from our teachers and along we marched ahead like a little army armored only with our pencil boxes and our brains.

As you may have been wondering how did the exam finally go? well, it went fairly well alhumdulilah and the other exams went almost the same.

So, just relax it is not the end of the world- is my advice.

feel free to comment below 🙂