Day 08: Full Steam Ahead
Duchess Door
I had a post lined up for tomorrow morning, set to be automatically published at 6 a.m. incase I never got the chance. It was prewritten (obviously) and, at the time of writing, I thought it creatively and accurately expressed what I was feeling about the physics exams. It just so happens that they the first two papers are tomorrow. However, I feel a lot different to what I felt a few days ago. I wrote the entry in light of the concept of DEFCON, nuclear war and nuclear winter. It was an interesting piece, since I have a niche for the tones and images associated with nuclear fallout. At the time, it really set the mood, but thankfully I have gotten past that.
I am feeling fairly optimistic about tomorrow. Not so optimistic to the point that I’ll know I will ace it – I am fully aware I won’t do absolutely amazing, maybe average at best, but I understand that. I think the fact that the exam is tomorrow is what is getting me excited. It’s very hard for people other than myself to get me optimistic; that’s something about me that I find incredibly useful because I tend to find myself seeking good things when I’m on my own, but it also has a reverse effect where there are occasions when people try to make me happy and I find it to be a nuisance. Getting back to the point, I feel a lot more happier than I was previously. I just hope that everything goes well. I’m looking forward to paper 1 (multiple choice) because I both really enjoy that I tend to do well in. I’m not looking forward to paper 2 (extended answers/written) because I just don’t like the difficulty of it towards the end. Paper 3 (option-chapters) is going to be a nice finish to the infamous subject since I can really focus on the two chapters that we have chosen to study as our options. Yes, it is last-minute revision, but it’s really helped so far.
So, with that, I hope that the next two days go well. The next entry will probably be very short, but it really depends how I feel.
Day 07: Recovery, Redemption
Still feeling sick. My stomach feels full (physically) despite not having eaten anything. I couldn’t sleep much last night, because I felt like I was going to throw up, and I hate throwing up. After 2 hours of standing over the bathroom sink, I got pretty annoyed that I wasn’t throwing up, even when my stomach and throat were making weird movements. This did, thankfully, make me a bit more confident about throwing up. Unfortunately, I never did throw up, but I managed to fall asleep on my 3rd attempt of doing so. My stomach still feels weird, but I’m less worried about throwing up. I wish I could just let it all out in one big fart.
So, I have my higher level english paper 2 tomorrow. Not too worried about it, though. I am, however, worried about the 3 papers after that; higher level physics. I cannot wait for the 13th of May, because I will be taking a break after the third paper. I’m going to drop HKD$10,000 on my new PC (mainly for the summer). I’m doing this early because I want to make sure that all the hardware works properly, and that I can get everything installed so I don’t have to sit around on the 22nd watching XP update. The other reason why I’m doing this early is because I want to have insurance that everything is working as expected; my 8800 died out on me a few months ago, so I’m nervous about nVidia cards… but I love nVidia.
Day 03: Preaching
Tomorrow is standard level maths. This is a day I have been looking forward to for 2 years. Mainly for personal reasons. I promise that either tomorrow or Friday (my birthday) I will update with something nice. I’ll probably do a reflection of the week every Friday.
Day 02: Nothing
Nothing much to report. Just going through the motions. Also building up the nerve to talk to someone. Oh well. Updated my main site, which was fun.
I’m actually looking forward to my birthday on friday, which is strange to think since my standard level maths paper 2 forces me to wake up at 6 a.m., and is the last exam before the second week of exams (75% of higher level physics papers).
Not going to be much of a birthday, though. Silly exams.
Day 0: The Night Before
The first of several final IB exams starts tomorrow. I feel like writing a short entry on my thoughts and feelings before and after each exam. It’s something nice to do before I sleep each night, whether or not there’s an exam looming the next day.
What’s cooking for tomorrow? Paper 1 of English A1 Higher Level. I honestly don’t like this paper because there’s not many ways you can revise for it. Basically, you have to write a commentary on an unseen poem or prose in 2 hours. Sure, you can try to knock out a commentary once a week as revision, but I don’t see it being that beneficial. The exam, as far as I see it, tests your knowledge of the English language in the context of literacy. This paper, in theory, is the most accurate to assess a students skill and ability to analyze a piece of literature, but in turn, it is also the most unreliable.
Everyone has a different reaction and interpretation to something; wether it be film, music or a piece of writing. So, in theory, someone can comment on their reaction, and get marks, since it’s what they think of the poem (using the exam as an example).
Oh, so Valkyrie didn’t suck? If you say so, mark-scheme.
Unfortunately, you have to think on terms of how the author wanted his audience to react, even if your own reaction is somehow more valid. I always fear that I will write something, maybe about how a character is constructed or evidence of political allegories, and the examiner will read it and say to himself,
“Actually, that’s wrong. Your interpretation is invalid”
That would suck. You know what also sucks? Black holes. Talking about black holes, I can\’t wait until the 13th of May, 9:45AM. Why? I\’ll be over and done (hopefully) with Physics, a bastard of a subject to take at higher level. That\’s next week, and it\’s the night before the exam. How time flies.
Plans for May
I graduated yesterday, which was nice. However, it feels a bit strange because we haven’t finished our exams first. Hopefully nothing bad happens, but it’s hard not to think about it. Either way, whatever happens, I have a ton of plans for the summer. Luckily for us (IB students), we get a whole extra month of holiday. Lots of time to do lots of things. A list would suffice; don’t you agree?
For now, I will be busy until the 22nd of May. I might be putting a few things up between now and then, but I can’t promise anything.
