Exams

As I arrived home after the finishing the very last test of this term, I felt relieved, yet at the same time not. I start to draw comparisons between tests and the war poetry we are studying. In war poems, they always say that although the war is physically over, there is this sense of guilt when you don't do well, and that your emotional and mental state will be changed forever.

Of course to say the same for tests and examinations would be too much of an overstatement. But still, is the war/exam truly over? To analyse this, let's start from the begining. 1st term, we think it will be an easy year, still being in Secondary 2. As we face our first test, we are only too aware that the year will not be so easy. Term 2, we did in and prepare for our mid-year tests. The June holiday is a mere respite before we plunge into another deludge of tests. As the year ends, we know the worst is yet to come. The EOYs are upon before we can prepare ourselves mentally for the onslaught of failure that is sure to come. Perhaps not for some people. When they finally end, we say its over.

But is it? We still have to wait for the report cards to come out. Fortunately, it is not like a war where the results are never good. But still the memory of a badly done exam will live on for quite a while, oftenly into the following year. Thankfully, not for the rest of our lives.