Exams! One thing which always causes everybody's mind to crumple. Those sleepless nights were a delight for some while on the other hand, a haunting for others. The mugging up of the notes which just seem to give me goosebumps still are the most hateful of all. I have seen people, especially girls trying to get through that freaking biological names of different body parts as well as medicine salts.
Moreover, the pressure from the parents kills the brain cells. Putting some ice on the cake, peer pressure, making fun of the one who hasn't studied a particular topic but they act like the same "yaar, ye topic to aana hi aana hai paper me, tu to gaya." ("Dude, this topic will be coming in the exam for sure, you are going to fail man!"). That mentality of teasing makes me smile today but at that time, I seriously felt like leaving the exam. Luckily I have cleared all my examinations and I did well :).
There also are some friends who make you mug up the topic two minutes before the exam and I still don't know how they did it. I am trying hard to figure it out. Maybe at that time, the mind was working at its 200% efficiency. High cortisol levels, that adrenaline rush before the exams, I miss them for sure but I don't want them back :).
Well, we needed to cover up the syllabus as much as we could for the exams so we allowed the dark circles to rule our eyes. But have you ever wondered that out of all the study, how much we remember today? Do we implement or try to implement that study in our life in the practical aspect? No! So that means all that time gets wasted, right? For 24 to26 years of age, we normally study and that goes all waste! All because of one thing, exams!
Now here's the problem. students do study, but to clear the exams and not to learn. Even the parents, teachers and those jealous peers create a subliminal environment called competition. Now, this competition acts as a driving force for students to excel, but only in exams, not actually. This leads to several other psychological and physiological changes especially in the minds of students who fail to reach that mark. The result, nonacceptance in the society, suicides, depression etc. These all things which are a result of only one thing, exams!
Solution lies in the student dealing with the situation himself/herself. If he/she tries to deal with the failure with optimism, he will succeed for sure. Here I would like to share a quote:
Anything can't be achieved overnight. It takes time. Even water needs 0 degrees Celsius temperature for some time to start freezing.
-Saurabh Chawla
Well, I would like to introduce you all to a young guy, Angad Nadkarni.You all must be thinking, who this guy is? Right? He is a hacker by profession. The important part is his innovative idea which he gave to the world, examify, an app which will surely take your exam woes away for sure. According to his explanation, the app uses very complex algorithms, applies them to the question papers collected from almost all schools, colleges and in short predict the question paper which is most likely to be given to the students to solve. I am going to list the pros and cons which I feel about the app:
Pros:
1) Saves time 2) Help students to study relevant things 3) Will help them to get good marks/grades
Cons:
1) Can be faulty at times 2) Students may miss out other important topics 3) Might be addictive as far as exams are concerned
No doubt the subjects which we study and which we are made to study forcibly are necessary but students should pay attention to the ones which they actually want to pursue and in which they have interest. The interest, when pursued goes in the long run while forced choices are short lived. I still remember the dialog that keeps revolving in my head from the movie 3 Idiots. It was "kaabil hone ke liye parho, kamyabi jhak maarke peeche aayegi!" (Study to become capable and the success will follow!").
Versatility is a good thing but if students pick one thing of their own choice and preach that, I am sure failures will be minimum. For rest leave it to god, stay positive and say All is well.
Don't forget to check out the video here.
Do check out my first entry for the Idea Caravan here.
This post is written for the Idea Caravan and Indiblogger in association with Franklin Templeton Investments. Do check out the video here. Also it is very much good to know that Franklin Templeton Investments partnered the TEDxGateway Mumbai in December 2012.
