Hi, so my name is Emma Lynch. I’m seventeen and yes, I’m in sixth year, a leaving certificate student. When I say I’m doing my leaving cert to people, it is usually met with a sympathetic “oh god really?” or an encouraging “hate that”. So basically people feel pretty sorry for me. I don’t feel sorry for myself, really. I mean I knew this was coming and I knew I had to do it, so here I am. Doing the Leaving Cert.

The Leaving Cert is not the worst thing in the world. It is just an exam that everyone has to do and I just gotta put my head down and study. Oh god, I sound like my mother. But how hard can it be just to learn off everything and then just scribble it down on paper? Clearly the stress hasn’t kicked in yet. I mean, it is only October so maybe you can use that as an excuse for my laid-back approach. Just check in with me again in six months time and we’ll see how laid-back I am.

But in all honestly, I want to do well in the Leaving Cert, I really would like to. Bbbbbbbuuuut I’m not the brightest bulb in the light shop. What I mean to say is basically there is no way I will be like that genius child down in Cork who got nine A1s. Maybe there is something in the water in Cork…or maybe there is just nothing to do in Cork except lock yourself in your room and study. No offense Corkies, I’ve never been to Cork so I don’t really know what its like there.

The subjects I’m doing for my LC are…. English, Irish, Maths, Spanish, Physics, History and Biology…..all at higher level. It hasn’t killed me yet but just give it a few weeks. I’ll let you know if I crack up from doing yet another circle question in maths or writing another essay on the wonderful…*cough, cough* King Lear.

The hardest thing I think I’ll find about this year is getting a balence between studying and my social life. I’m just hoping my social life won’t disappear and my Saturdays nights won’t be replaced with mountains of homework, a million and one cups of tea and stacks of toast. Well I’ll guess I’ll find out soon enough.

On a positive note, I know I’m not alone. All my worries, my fears, are pretty much the same worries and fears as my friends and the 60,000 or so other students sitting the LC next June. We’re all not alone and it’s nice to know we have somewhere to vent our frustrations while at the same time avoiding Biology homework:)