starts with stress, followed by depress. hope to God it ends with success.

there's this thing that people above the age of 16 like to say.
in fact, i don't recall having met anyone who's said otherwise.

"aiyah... it's only year 11 la!"

yeah, i know year 11 exams don't mean anything in the end.
but the crazed kiasu-ness in me still wants to do well.
it sucks to grow up passing primary school effortlessly, and then to suddenly crash and burn because you can't be bothered to put in the work required.

and at my school, failing anything is reason enough to throw yourself off a cliff.

actually, it's cue for the teachers to start encouraging you to explore alternative pathways to achieve the goals and career aspirations that best suit your needs.

so study we year 11s must.

many of us find this extremely difficult.

some attempt to study in groups at Alexander library. but with Northbridge literally sitting just outside the doors, i'd say it isn't very effective. the call of bubble tea (90 seconds away) is a hard one to resist.

others form study groups... but tend to do this in blobs of more than 3 or 4 people. this usually results in a lot of giggling and eraser throwing.

some stay at home and cram everything into their little brains until they turn into pinkish mush. it works. -ish. these are the ones that come out of the exam rooms with crazed smiles on their faces, laughing to themselves from time to time.

a few study minimally and get brilliant results. we call these ones the bastards.

personally, i say "poo... have to study".
then i bury myself into a little hole and proceed to cry myself into oblivion.

THEN i pray really, really hard.