It’s that time of the year again; the dreaded examination period for tertiary students is edging closer. Exams are meant to be a test of knowledge, perseverance and a reflection of your true potential.
The winning recipe to achieve this is a dash of faith, a helping of hard work and spoonfuls of studying, right? Wrong!
There is no winning formula and many different students have their own ideas and differences in this regard. One such difference is the various categories of students in an exam room.
These types are Eager Enver, Nervous Nelly, Rebellious Raj and Laat Lammetjies.
The Eager Enver types are the bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, on-the-ball students.
They come to the exam room armed with hours of studying, researching and absorbing the study material.
They not only understand the mounds of information, but are ever-ready to demonstrate their knowledge and are ready for tests, quizzes or spot exams, all day and every day.
While these students are admirable, the next bunch is no less magnificent, but tend to have a different, more acquired style in the exam room.
They fall under the Nervous Nelly category.
From their title, we can ascertain that they have curious minds, ask a lot of questions, but also second-guess a lot.
Second-guessing and not being over-confident is never a bad thing, but this genre of students stands out. They are always the bunch huddled up together before an exam, questioning their theories, or the type to ask questions in an exam.
They also always leave the exam room as if they have failed, but lo and behold, A symbols await them.
I guess there is a thin line between over- and under-confident, but these students have the balance nailed.
The next batch of students are termed Rebellious Raj.
They believe they are too cool for school.
These are the type to breeze through the subjects with the art of nonchalance. They are the risk takers and strong believers of ‘what’s meant to happen will’.
No amount of lecturing, mentoring or student abuse will deter them.
The last but not least category is the Laat Lammetijies (or late bloomers).
These are your average students who go through the motions during subjects, but spring into action only days before the examinations. They work best under pressure and work miracles as they cram all the theory at point 99.
Every different subject is a different outcome, with the same method, and every semester they swear not to repeat the mantra, but are strangely drawn to last-minute studying for every exam. They are very similar to the risk takers. I personally am a combination of all four at any given time, but with the recent happenings in the world and in my world, I feel as if my study bundle is depleted. Sitting with the books seems like an uphill challenge, like running a mental marathon.
The famous Chinese proverb rings true: A journey of a thousand miles begins with one step. But taking that step, opening that book and re-charging that study bundle is a tremendous task. It’s true what they say: Everyone wants that degree, but no one wants to study… at least not at this moment.
But the world is your oyster, students, so take the exams by fire and by force.
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