Student life is fun. Yeah, I'd say it is. College brings free time and independence with it, along with an added sense of responsibility. Well, the bad things get majorly cancelled out by the good stuff. If you have to attend boring lectures, at least there's a possibility to sit in the back row and write notes to your friend, discussing the future plan of action and strategizing on how to get maximum fun out of the short time we have! If you have to keep track of all your classes and assignments yourself, at least there are other people around you, who also have the same things to keep a track of, so its not so bad. BUT...there's this one slight factor...which is a painful yet essential part of college life...its these dreaded Exams!!
I have heard about exam preparations from many of my friends in the various hostels of various colleges across the country, and there is a stark similarity in all of them. The thing with the exams is that they just don’t seem to end!! The day the final exam ends you feel relieved, and you even count the days before the next exams. Generally there is about 3-4 weeks before the next series but even before you know it , time flies and the next test is actually right on your head.
People say that the earth rotates at a constant pace, but i beg to differ... take for example, the time between the exams ..you bat an eye lid and three weeks pass ...just before the exams when you have 10 chapters to study ...you read one and find out that already half the time is gone...the week of the exams..well that seems like eternity....and have you ever noticed how in the exams where you are well prepared...the duration of the test seems to have passed in a jiffy forcing you to scribble quickly on your paper , and pray to god that the prof understands your handwriting.
Well at the end of every exam, i am sure everyone makes a resolution. Next time , i am going to study everyday and be up to date , so that i don’t have to rush in the last moment and will score good marks. But then by the time you come around to implementing this plan...the next exam is around the corner.. ( i told you see..time flies ). Then just about a week before the exams, there is a sudden urge to start studying!! Then begins the prep..you scramble around in the hostel to find out the topics to be covered and the notes and reading material.
Having procured all the literature that is required, you proceed to study. You lock your self in the room, to avoid being distracted by the sounds outside. Then you sit on the chair with your book and notes..a few sheets of paper to make your own shorthand notes for last minute revision ( which generally happens when you leave your room to go to the exam hall ). Make sure there is adequate light, a cup of coffee is ready next to you, as you want to put in an all nighter. Ensure that the phone is within reaching distance to ensure that you don’t have to get up from studying at all. The computer is on the other table playing soft soothing music, preferably instrumentals ( scientific research has proven that this helps you study better..the instrumental music , i mean )
You start reading..the first paragraph make total sense ( generally cause it is the introduction and tells us in short what is going to be covered in the chapter) , the second paragraph is good..the third okie...
The fourth doesn’t make much sense and by this time you have lost what you read in the second paragraph...frustrated you start studying again from the beginning and also start taking diligent notes.(generally writing down everything that you think is important..which at this point of time is almost everything that you read). Then suddenly you feel that you rather listen to some other songs, so you get up to change the music.
on your computer you see a window flashing. Hmm, lemme just see who it is, just for a sec, you think. So you go over, thinking ( and hoping ) that it might be something important...Mostly, it isnt. Its usually a friend, who's bored and trying to study but...cant study cuz he/she's bored! So, like a good person, you exchange a few words, tell him/her that you're studying and then..just as you're about to say bye, POP, a new window opens! What is it this time, you wonder. Well, curiousity killed a cat is right, cuz of Course, you check this out too. Its usually just another bored friend, looking for company. So thats how it goes on, till you casually glance at the clock...and woops..and HOUR passed!! Ok I just have to go study now, you think to yourself. Fair enough, you shut off the messenger, and dont shut down the computer since your music's playing on it of course...
then you curse yourself for wasting an hour and go back to studying...
here i would like to add something ...have you ever seen how it shows that a person is idle on the messengers..well idle doesn’t actually mean he is idle..it actually means that he has got something worthwhile to do other than sitting in front of his computer and chat..just a thought that i wanted to share..
and at the end of the 5 day drama which leads you to the penultimate day, the level of attention goes on increasing..and hence as a result you don’t actually study a lot and end up cramming a whole lot of stuff!!
So for all the distracted souls who relate to this flow of events..dont worry we have company!!!