It is a little like Christmas Eve. There’s tension and excitement, albeit of a different form. Putting in last minute preparations, all most of us can think about is what awaits us tomorrow morning. Will we be disappointed, surprised or get exactly what we wanted? I hope the State Examinations Commission will be as kind as good ‘ole Saint Nick anyway.

People approach these last few hours before exams start in different ways. Some spend the day engaged in self-induced panic attacks. Others stay up studying until unsightly hours, kept awake only by energy drinks and suspicious calming tablets. I, on the other hand, am having a relaxation day.

Am I crazy? Quite possibly. I had a Courtney Love moment yesterday when struggling with a geoecology question and I’m not sure if I’ve fully calmed down yet. However, it’s a tradition of mine to relax before big exams, in order to recharge my batteries for the gruelling week ahead. Don’t get me wrong, there’s still so much I don’t know but at this point I think my brain deserves a rest. I’d advise people to adopt a similar approach. Don’t tire yourself out before the Leaving Cert has even begun!

Then again, I don’t think I could take the whole day off without feeling guilty, so I’m going to do a bit of Maths. I’ve neglected it in recent weeks, as it’s my only pass subject and therefore I’m not expecting to include it in my points in August. Despite that, I’d like to do reasonably well (as in, not fail it) and the nice thing is there’s no real memorising involved, just practice. Then I’m going to listen to Countdown to 806 so I don’t fall into total denial about tomorrow. I got the podcasts other days and found the Geography one particularly helpful. I listened to yesterday’s episode live but ended up sitting through thirty-five minutes of Biology and ten of Applied Maths, avidly waiting for History which was squeezed in for a couple of minutes at the end. I don’t even do the other two and felt I had learned more about them in the hour! Wow, I really love to moan.

Then I’m going to write out time plans for each subject that I can consult beforehand. The evening before each test, I’ll be quickly revising the main topics, obviously with the exception of today. English Paper 1 is something that I actually enjoy (okay, I’m officially crazy) and I’m already fluent, which is half the battle. I know which composition I aim to write, which is the serious and/or light-hearted article and I’m hoping for a speech or talk for the Question B. To get my imagination in the right place, I’m going to watch one of my favourite movies, 500 Days of Summer, tonight. After all, what better way to get my creative juices flowing than artistic imagery, hilarious jokes, inspirational quotes and a killer soundtrack?

I don’t know how often I’ll be posting over the next week so I’ll just go with the flow. Before we get our teeth into it, I want to wish everyone the best of luck. Remember, this is just a detour on the way to a beautiful summer!

But damn, I really wish it was Christmas Eve.

Forgive me bloggers for I have sinned, it has been two months since my last post. Okay, I just checked and my last post was written on the 8th of November. Today is the 8th of January and now that I think about it, the LC starts on the 8th of June. What can I say, I like patterns. Of course I have a list of reasons for my absence (yeah, whatever helps you sleep at night Ciara):

1. Christmas tests (original excuse, I know).

2. Results of aforementioned tests. Don’t get me wrong, I did fine but I was disappointed with a few of them so I tried to put in a bit of extra study to make up for it.

3. Internet boycott following aforementioned results of aforementioned tests (word of the day: aforementioned). I decided to do this because my study time consists of going on Facebook and complaining about my lack of study. Also, I realised that I remember a status a girl in my French class wrote about her rabbits two weeks ago, yet I don’t remember the French word for rabbit. Or the French word for anything… Anyway, in what seemed an attempt to spur me on in my boycott, my internet broke the week of Christmas.

4. Christmas. Who could possibly think of Calculus or the formation of a cliff when there’s mountains of food and every Harry Potter/ Indiana Jones movie ever made on TV? A stronger person than I, that’s who.

5. Internet catch-up session following aforementioned internet boycott following aforementioned results of aforementioned tests (otherwise known as stalking).

Thankfully other bloggers have been dedicated enough to keep the homepage fresh. Reading through all the posts, I’m glad we all seem to be in the same boat. However, I still haven’t filled out my CAO (I could commit the most rebellious act, which is to fill it out at 5.14 pm on the 1st of February).

I’m going to have to cut this short because I still have an essay to do before we go back to school (someone is going to have to drag me out of my bed kicking and screaming Monday morning).

Au revoir, mes lapins!

I’m back! I felt unbelievably stupid for not managing to sign in for months on end but after swallowing my pride here I am! I’m all for technology and progress and all that  don’t get me wrong, but when you see “password incorrect” for the 147th time it’s easy to get disillusioned. I’m happier being a neo Luddite if I’m honest.

Anyway back to the task at hand (which in my case should be my French Mock tomorrow! ) I cannot believe how fast this year is going, one minute its October Tests, then you blink and you’re in the middle of mocks! How did that happen??  From writing this sentence it is only 99 days, 16hours, 55minutes and 29seconds until English Paper One begins on June 9th….. Just thought I’d give us all a little heart attack there (don’t kill me!)

Ah all panic aside I cannot wait to leave secondary school. Im quite young at 17 in sixth year but I’m sure you’ve all looked at first and second years and thought “was I really ever that small??” (and standing at 5′4″-ishI’m hardly Goliath myself!) Seriously though, I can’t help but look at some of them with their teddy key-rings on their schoolbags and little decorated lockers and think “GET ME OUT OF HERE!!”

When CAO deadline came around on the 1st of February it was such a relief, it was like “that’s it! it’s done and I’m not thinking about it until may!” My first preference is UCD for International Modern Languages (DN069) but since it’s only in it’s first year I don’t know anyone who’s taken it. Languages at Third Level are supposed to be pretty difficult so I’d love some advice if there’s anyone out there  who’s been there?!

Anyway for me it’s back to my Jounal Intime

Bye!

Caoimhe