Exam Times

It is that time of year right now that every 6th year student has been dreading for 2 years- or if they are anything like me ,has  been dreading it since I was 2 years old. The beginning of June , the beginning of The Leaving Cert , the beginning of the rest of your life....but its not really !

This time of year puts anxiety in people I didn't think even knew the meaning of the word. People pacing up and down corridors with sheets in hand. People sitting on floors and tables, even in corners to try and get that last little piece of information in before the attendant asks that everyone enter the exam center. You can hear that gasp and sigh as we pack away those sheets into our school bags and pile into that room as if we were never to come out of that room again - but we will !

It is incredible the power these exams hold over all of us .  They have made the strongest people I know cry, they have made me cry. They have made teenagers loose sleep worrying , but also loose sleep studying . All nighters are being pulled to cram a 2 year course into a couple of hours. Red bull is being consumed like it was brain juice , but yet even the smell of the stuff is enough to make me feel a little queasy . Borocca and coke are also what would seem vital elements in the mixture of  what is needed to keep 16-17-18 year old awake at this exam time.

I have seen girls who normal would not walk out of the house unless they looked like they could be going to the oscars ( make-up and such ) come into school without a trace of the stuff... nothing to cover the dark circles beginning to form under eyes due to sleep deprivation . Hair tied up in a pony tail and fringe clipped back because it is the easiest option . I am speaking on behalf of myself as well as others here.
I have seen the boys arrive in with their tracksuits , also showing the tell tale signs of no sleep the night before. Boys I have never seen with a book in there hand now staring at it intensively hoping something will go in , as if osmosis could magically work with words and books.

I have also notice that faith has become vital to those who want to pass their exams. I cant help think to myself that God must feel very needed this time of year . Candles are being lit, prayers are being said , even pleas are being made to God.  I am of course praying as everyone else is , asking God to help me through all of my exams - saying before all of them  "Lord, help me to remember that nothing can happen to me today that neither you or I can not handle together"  . Because that is exactly true, there is nothing that can happen to me any day that I can not handle as long as God is right there with me.
None of these exams are going to kill any of us - though at time we think they might . We are slowly but surely ticking each one off the list .... 8 down 3 to go .We are getting there - and freedom....oh freedom is so so close !!!!

Aoife Marie Elizabeth ♪