19 Oct 2017

This time of year turns students one way or the other.

On one hand, you have the students who are majorly stressed. Tears, tantrums and major breakdowns are on the horizon. These are the ones that will stay up all night cramming because they’re terrified of not getting the final mark they need.

These students might have procrastinated to the last minute but you’ll still see them trying to memorise facts and dates just minutes before walking into the exam. Their notes could be a jumbled mess of random pages and handwritten flash cards or they might have colour coded binders with sticky notes- either way, they’ve committed to giving a shit about what their final marks will be.

On the other hand you have the students who spent all night watching Netflix instead of looking at their notes. The time in between exams is spent mucking around on their laptop or hanging out with their mates. These students might still be worried about their marks but they’re laying on their bed on a Friday night instead of heading to the library. When someone asks them how study is going they shrug their shoulders and say ‘fine’.

Although these two groups have a lot of similarities there’s one key difference: one simply doesn’t care.

It’s not that the students in the second group don’t have ambitions or drive. It’s not that they don’t want to go to uni (although some of them might not). It’s not that they’re not smart.

They are just past the point of caring.

Some of these students will be the overachievers- the kids who have spent their years bringing home reports with high marks and positive comments. The kids whom when they don’t put their head down and hit the books, will know they are disappointing their teachers by not putting every bit of energy into smashing their exams and raising the school’s average marks (although some of them will still manage to do both).

Some of these students will be the kids who have spent the past 13 years being written off- told that they have no hope or wasted potential. The kids with reports that said they ‘need to apply themselves more’. The kids with untapped intelliegence that won’t be measured by their final exams, regardless of how hard they try.

And some of these kids will fall somewhere on the spectrum in between. Some will have jobs and apprenticeships lined up. Some will have early offers or alternative pathways sorted. Some will be burnt out and some just won’t see the point in stressing themselves over their final exams.

Regardless of how bad or good they’ve gone at school in the past, regardless of the detentions or awards they might have recieved the point is they’re done.

They are over the exams and assessments. They are done with the stress that comes with trying to live up to expectations set by other people that they may or may not meet. They have decided the late nights and tears aren’t worth it. Yeah, they might still feel anxious. They might still get a knot in their stomach when they think about their ATAR and whether it will be good enough. But ultimately, everything is overriden by an overwhelming sense of I don’t give a shit anymore.

Despite what anyone says, it’s okay to be over it.

It’s okay to realise that there is more to your final years of high school than spending hours locked away in your room studying; more than rankings and results. It’s okay to put your energy into other things and find other pathways to where you want to be.

At the end of the day, regardless of your results, you will find a way. Whether you get the mark you want or not, you will have achieved so many other things this year that you can be proud of. Hey- even getting through the whole mango debacle is an achievement in itself.

The point is, these exams aren’t going to define the rest of your life, and it’s okay to be over all the stress and pressure that comes with sitting your final exams.

 

image credit: disp0sablesky