The end of the journey (inc. lots of brackets)

I totally realise that recently my blog has filled up with bits here and there about exams. And that’s nothing in comparison to my life! For the last few weeks, much of my spare time has been taken up with revising and working towards my exams, not because they are the most important thing in my life, but for my own satisfaction to do my best, knowing that I’ve worked hard, whatever the final outcome. Looking back (I now only have one exam remaining), I see that all those times I spent cooped up at my desk, with tears streaming down my face and brain rocketing with sadness (not really, it’s just artistic licence) as I slurped my cup of tea worth it.

The work beforehand meant that I felt more prepared than I would have done if I hadn’t pushed through it (obviously), and for me, it’s a good feeling – and before you think that I am lucky to have felt ready for every exam, I’ll tell you now that that was not the case! Quite a few times did I walk into the hall before sitting down with a heap of dread in my core, either remembering things I wanted to revise, or panicking that there was something on the syllabus I hadn’t learnt.

All I’m saying is that at the end, when you can see the ‘light at the end of the tunnel’ (cheesy phrase, but I’ll keep positive), that hard work seems to be worth it. I’m looking forward to a summer free of lots of work, when I actually have time, time to live my life, relax and spend time doing things I love with people I love.

Working through tough times has also taught me something about myself. Before, I hadn’t had much experience of having to work super hard for something I wanted to achieve, and after this set of exams, I now know that if I set my mind to something, I can work towards it, hoping to realise my potential. However well or badly I’ve done in my exams, overall, I think I’m happy with the preparation I put in;  I must also add that there are people who did a lot more than me, but to the exclusion of other things! During the exam period I have kept friendly and sociable with my family, been a regular attender at my Christadelphian ‘church’ and even managed to fit in a wedding! I think it is most important to have a break from ‘hard work’, and I found that doing something different every so often probably helped me to be more productive overall. For example, I have friends who do revision for seven hours straight. I have no idea how they do it, but I’m sure not all of it sticks! I would split up that time with short breaks to stretch my legs, have a leisurely lunch, take some photos and even go on a walk round the village. (Fresh air is a great healer!)

This post isn’t a really long one, and you’re probably all happy with that. Yet, I just wanted to (hopefully) show that hard work can pay off, if you keep at it. This post may have been a motivation for you, and even if it hasn’t, it’s been helpful for me to write down and (partially) organise my thoughts (it gets a bit muddled in there sometimes!).

Well, I hope you have an excellent week, and I’ll try and do more preparation as I wait for my final exam (which is in a few days time!). Keep smiling!

🙂