The smell of fresh cut grass, the beams of an unfamiliar sun, the water balloons; yes the summer is truly here and the end of school is just around the corner for thousands of students. For many more this means the start of some demanding study!

Not to fear with ‘National mitch Day’ on Friday, we will get a break from the books for a short while. Seems the teachers have also picked up on this ‘national mitch day’ and decided to give us/themselves a half day… that just takes the entire fun out of the event doesn’t it!

At present I am focusing on my history research project (thing). I don’t know what I’m doing to be honest with this. Seemed easy at first, thought I would take ‘Leonardo Da Vinci’ for it as he seems to be a pretty neat guy. The whole project thing does get a little tedious after the first three pages though. I am also focusing on the art practicals these days with that exam on the horizon. It also appears that the exam papers for the practical art exam have arrived at the school… and lawfully cannot be opened. Anyone up for decent raid!

The whole thing seems to be getting a little exciting at this stage. How surprising… hello there is study to be done! I think everyone is glad just be getting the exams out of the way and moving on. I’m looking forward to the grad mass too, and the typically Irish booze up that will follow afterwards, our last moment of secondary level immaturity, our last night out (unlikely) before the big exam.

Also, can someone please get back to me on how to study?

Still looking for that winning formula,

Colin.

(*Urban Dictionary: Mitch-

Brit slang for truant. -

Teacher: Where’s Bill today?
Ben: He said he was going to mitch off.)

You’re such a… you’re such.. such a TEENAGER!
As I have made you well aware of, I am doing my pres. Today is Monday and I have just done art history and it was alright, I particularly enjoyed the appreciation of art section.  I got to design a website for a local club or school,

I was in my element.

This exam comes the day after a weekend of normalness- going out with friends and no study. What I thought to be normal has raised a few questions, is it normal to go out on a weekend of exams, after all they are only pres. What is normal? How many of you out there can relate to me or am I just foolish and throwing away a very important chance on our road to final year exams. And in the end, I do know that for the real exams I will not be going out at all. I will be cramping my style with hours of study.

Colin.

Depression mode initiated, code blue alert. Week one of the pre-exams is finally out the window and it has been a demoralizing week. I don’t get how ‘mock’ exams can get me so worked up… They mean nothing, but I want to ‘win’, I am a competitor. I am a student of fluid manoeuvres, patiently observing the intermittent pattern of examinations. My specialisation is deciphering the past papers, precisely predicting what will be on the paper and with this I enter the mind of an examiner swotting-up on previous marking schemes and only then can one can gain full control of their nameless assessor.

This was my method up to this week, yes I had a good idea of what questions would come up in each paper but I have entered a whole new realm of problems- Study. I can fabricate half a strategy, but it’s useless without a second half of genuine revision. My slothful behaviour has been induced by hundreds of hours of nonstop TV and gaming. Sinful.

Male, 17, seeking antidote to laziness.

How can I be upset about something I’m not willing to put effort in… Why am I pissed off about pres? I want answers, answers to life!

Over and out,

Colin.

I am pleased to take these vital moments of my evening to welcome you thrill seekers to the adventurous reality of the leaving cert with the participation of your fellow student (or not) Colin Lowry.

Let me tell you if you find it difficult to study, you’re not alone. If you don’t find it hard, I envy you. My past week on midterm consisted of less study than a school week, and now I find myself stuck in the middle of the mock exams. This morning I prepared myself well, I had set my alarm for 7.30am. I miserably awoke to the “harmonious” song of the early birds and that default fanfare alarm racket; following this I fell back to sleep! It was only at 8.20am I decided it would actually in my best interests to
get up, always trust your body clock.

Without further nuisance (or breakfast), I was sitting diligently in my desk evaluating my paper.

“English – Higher Level – Paper 1

Getting to grips with it, I flicked through the pages - yes, I can deal with this. I happily moved through the paper, but in our stressful situation, we lose all sense of time! In an exam, never trust your body clock! Allocating a mere 35 minutes to the second section of the paper - worth half the paper, I panicked… I panicked! Not bothering studying for paper 1, in my life, I chose the first question my eyes met on the final page, question 1.

“Okay, okay… an article, finest, lash down a few points there or a bit of brainstorming I suppose.”

Finished, oh the satisfaction of completing the paper is sheer pleasure. A solid 2 page article completed in 30 minutes of a 2 hour and 50 minutes exam, worth 50% of the entire paper, I have to say that I felt pleased with myself. Looking around the hall, every student as still writing and an afterthought of worry struck me as to why I wasn’t.
Exiting the hall, everyone was discussing the exam. I tuned into one such discussion,

“Yeah, so section 2, how many pages? 4, 5, 6? I must have spent a good 70 minutes on it.”

Oh well… there goes my 100marks. With a full day ahead of me the plan was to hit the library. Didn’t happen, rarely does. This is the reality of students doing the leaving cert, many consider it laziness, I like to think… PS3 raging hormones.

Here I am 11.00pm and with paper 2 in a few hours, which I am told requires real study, I plan to get in touch with my studious side.

O, Honest Iago!

I wonder if all this writing counts as some form of study,

Colin.

It’s Sunday evening and I have just woke up. In less than 15 hours I, along with my fellow suffering leaving cert students, will be trudging into an exam room to sit the first of our mocks.

Why am I not panicking? This is not good, after a full week of nothing, I find myself glancing over study notes and browsing Bebo… at the same time. I’m tempted to switch off my phone but it’s harder than it seems. What can I say? I’m in demand!

So these are the harsh realities of a 21^st century student. Personally I blame technology. It wasn’t too long ago that students had to make do with skipping ropes, spinning tops, or if they were really lucky perhaps a piece of chalk for hopscotch!

But we are cursed with televisions, computers, mobile phones and social websites. So parents, please do not blame us for poor school concentration, but instead the likes of Bill Gates (send him an email), or other such tech geeks.

You did not have the distractions we have today, except maybe a hard day’s work on the bog. We have an excuse, unlike you who did the leaving cert a hundred years ago in the typewriter days.

Take it easy,

Colin.