No longer will the library be my second home. Those long, long days - and nights - are done with. Lying awake in bed, worrying if the amount of work I've done is enough, can be forgotten.
These symptoms may sound fairly familiar to the average student faced with exams; whether it is at degree level, or any other qualification. The assessment system of education can be an overbearing, demanding and draining force.
As deadlines become more threatening, the importance of all other aspects of life seems to evaporate into thin air. We become social hermits, only interacting with those brave enough to come near the crazed, irritable specimens we become. The mere notion of three regular meals a day is vanished and in its place we depend on copious amounts of snacks: energy drinks, biscuits and toast all become part of the normal eating regime. Sleep is deemed a luxury as it is forsaken for either further study, or thoughts of panic and depression, keeping you up all night.
In some cases, students react so badly to this "exam season" that they become physically ill. The pressure that is put on and felt by many people is, in my opinion, unfair.
Many of my friends are currently finishing their finals, cramming last minute revision at this very moment and it is clear that pressure and stress is at an all-time high. Students should not be getting ill as a result of exams, while it is good to feel motivated and endeavour for academic success, one's health should not be harmed as a part of the process. They say that "the fear" (the panic that sets in when you realise how much work there is to do but so little time to do it in) is a catalyst for motivation. Yet if this "fear" that kicks us all into action, also sends us all into despair, surely it cannot be effective.
GCSE and A level students, moreover, should not be intimidated by tense teachers who threaten that 'these exams are the most important ones you will ever sit!' School students are put under such a high pressure at such young ages. I remember when choosing which subjects to study at GCSE, at the tender age of 13, being told that these subjects will determine what I was to do for the rest of my life. Even though a friend who chose mainly humanities based subjects is now studying medicine...so, somehow I think that concept may have been flawed.
Not only are University students carrying the worry of academia, it is also the fear of the unfavourable prospective job market. Though we may be graduating with good degrees, the chances of attaining a job soon after are pretty slim. With the economic climate adding a further anxiety to the list, more and more students are being prescribed medication for depression and stress.
Though I am a thorough believer that hard work pays off, I find the effect of examinations and assessments worrying. Students should not have to feel as though they are undergoing an ordeal. While advice may be given, sometimes it simply does not cut it.
I am glad to say I have completed my undergraduate degree and that I can relax...well, for a little while at least.
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