In a tete-a-tete session with 'Exam'

Come mid-March each year, the buzz words Exams! Exams! Exams! fill the air. Young and old alike are agog with discussions on the possible strategies of encountering the most inevitable ‘exam’. At the end of it, each one craves to strike a win-win relationship with the most gentle and the oft misread well-wisher.

Having said this, let’s make an honest effort to understand as to what ‘exam’ means to us. Let’s give ‘exam’ some time to explain to us as to what all he can do for us, both on the psychological and the application angle.

A boy is walking on the street. As a typical student, he is unmindful of any of the impending challenges lying ahead of him. From nowhere,a tall heftyman walks up to the boy and puts his hand out to greet him, causing a tremble in the heart of the boy.  
The boy blurts, “Who are you?”

“Exam!!”comes the loud, stern and confident reply.

The boy starts to run away with all his speed. The man follows suit, gets the better of the boy and asks, “Hey! Why are you running?”

The boy answers,“Whenever I think of you, I get stressed and anxious. You really frighten me beyond imagination.  I feel worried and irritated most of the time. I don’t feel like waking up, feel tired all the time, experience sudden pains in the body, eyes feel weak, my heart seems to beat faster, feel sick/ queasy in the stomach, can’t sleep properly / have scary dreams, have frequent headaches, keep forgetting everything…”
Exam has a hearty laugh and exclaims, “My dear friend! You don’t seem to have understood me correctly.  Lend me your ears and I will tell you what a host of good I can do to you.”

 The boy reluctantly agrees, and Exam starts to tell about himself.

He says, “My dear boy, please keep two important facts in mind. One, the creator creates each one of us with a particular purpose. Secondly, each entity in the creation is created to support the other. So I too have a particular purpose in life.You may dread me, curse me, hate me, but I do many favours to you. I have been created by the Almighty with a 7 point programme in mind.”

And Exam unfolds the reasons behind his creation as thus:
1. I form the ladder that takes you higher in life
2. I help you to know yourself better
3. I teach you to work
4. I bring out the best of potential in you
5. I teach you to think under pressure
6. I teach you to uphold a deadline
7. I teach you life skills that you can put to use in the real world

The boy looks at him uncertainly, and Exam goes on, “I can tell you 12 ways to make me your best friend. Would you like to befriend me?”

“Go on,” says the boy, eagerly.

And Exam unfolds the 12 ways to befriend him as thus:

1. Prepare adequately and be confident. Brain works well when the mind is calm and body is healthy. So sleepwell the day before we meet. Be content. During our meet do not worry about things not done.

2. Draw out and stick to the timetable by yourself. Being truthful to the timetable will help.

3. Revision forms the key to success. Revise with a calm mind. Take breaks. Finish your revision the day before. To enjoy our meeting, don’t work till the night before.

4. Mind mapping forms a key to good presentation.

5. Methodical study is the only way to success. It is important to set apart some time to do different things during the day, like eat, study, and play, making the day joyful and less monotonous.

6. Write what you have studied. It could be in the form of summary or exactly the same.

7. Avoid telephonic talks with friends during revision. Be careful during group studies as you may only end-up chatting.

8. Resort to virtual communities to make studying more enjoyable and interesting.Study calendars, Flash cards which help to organise and create notes- For instance, Cards on chemical formulae / cards on algebra or trigonometry. Quiz Monster ( study feature on facebook), iRead book stores- New book of sample question papers.Peer Pong – During revision, one can post a question online. Answers are generated from various users. {Available on Aardvart, Quora and Yahoo Questions}are the latest new avenues on internet.

9. Be genuine. It’s always better to have little with righteousness than maximising without being right.  Always impress me with your honesty rather than trying to win me over by cheating.

10. Do not compare your answers with those of your friends. You will feel down for our meet the next day.

11. Don’t keep checking how much your friends have finished studying. Our meeting is exclusive and each person has a different experience.

12. Eat wholesome and nutritious food. Avoid oily food. Meditation and some yoga exercises could help you in staying calm.

“So friend, do you see how close we can be? All the very best!” Exam finishes, and disappears on an enigmatic note.