The Big Ones Are Here !!!

So, 10th and 12thies, The big bad boards are within shouting distance now !! Well, actually these exams are neither as big nor as bad as they are made out to be. If tackled correctly, the can be lot less of a pain in the posterior, and might even turn out to be fun ! So here are some examination advices, Customised for the boards. These are not studying strategies, but test taking tips. i.e. , things to do at the time of the exam.
All these have been tried, tested and certified by several people who've been quite successful test takers themselves. So be assured, all of them are perfectly safe, user friendly, non-toxic...

(Using time-line references like 'the day before', 'on the day of the exam', '2 hours before the exam' is rather cumbersome. So I've assumed that we are talking some exam taking place on the 1st of march, 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.. All dates and time are listed accordingly. Modify as applicable...)

On the 28th of Feb...
Finish your syllabus today - even if it means being at the table all day. Tomorrow is gonna be tight. VERY tight. The air will be electric with tension and your concentration levels will be at an all time low. So consider this day as the last of your preparation. Stay up all night if you please, but don't go to bed thinking "I'll do this tomorrow...". Because you won't.

29th Feb
Do only light study today. Casually leaf through your textbook, or read the revision notes you may have prepared. Here is a possible shocker - Stop studying by 5'o clock, max.

Because, while cbse is supposed to evaluate your year full of study, it looks at only 3 hours worth of material. So while you've (hopefully) studied all year long, its extremly important to be able to put your stuff down on the sheet. And thus, its vital to stay relaxed. After 5, do anything u enjoy - watch tv, listen to some good music, talk to your friends or parents or just lie around...

Go to bed early. at 10 p.m., max. Pulling an all-nighter right befor the exam is a REALLY bad idea, because its essential that you stay awake during the exam (Duh...). Even those who take pride in their nocturnal nature must realise that brain capacity does suffer after insufficient sleep. And trust me when I say, proper sleep is more important than anything u can study the night before.

Prepare a pencil box with all the stuff you need - pens, pencils, et al... And yes, your admit card ! Stuff a few extra pens and a copy of your admit card into your blazer pockets, just in case !

1st March (D Day !)

7:30 a.m.

Don't bother getting up before 7.30... make it 8 if u like. Take it really really easy. Because relaxed is the way to be...

Start the day with some of your favourite music (I recommend 'chak de fatte' by Kailash Kher, From 'Khosla ka Ghosla'). It'll take ur mind off the thing.

Take a bath. No proper reason for this one, but maybe being fresh helps...

Have something light for breakfast. Eating nothing will make yout tummy grumble, eating too much will make you drowsy...


9:15 a.m.
You ought to be at the center by now. Being a lil early helps so that u can check out ur room no. and go through all the the rituals of the exam in time.

Wear your blazers/sweaters, even if it is a trifle warm. Because if you feel warm, you can always hang it on your chair, and the wearher DOES take unexpected turns..

Do not. Absolutely, Positively DO NOT, discuss anything at the examination hall, because, god forbid, if u get stuck on some question there - your confidence is gone for good. Have faith, and
do anything there except studying (My personal favourite was doing a bhangra jig with my friend Nipun).

10:00 a.m.
Now you are in the battle ground !! Spend the first few minutes making yourself comfortable. If there's something wrong your chair/table, Insist on it to be changed.

Somewhere during the exam, you'll be offered water. Take it, even if you are not thirsty - you'll be surprised at how much clearer you can think after a drink !

1:00 a.m.
Fooh !! its up ! irrespective of whether it was good or bad, Its Over !! So be happy about it ! Go home and fall flat on your bed. Take an hour or two worth of nap, and chuck every bit of the subject out of our head. In the evening, celebrate ! Take an hour of gaming on your p.c. or go out and meet a friend (this one doesn't appll if the next exam is less than 2 days away.)
Take the day off and from the night on, Gear up for the next !!

All the Best Every One !!!

Call it half empty, then fill it up !!

Here is the final-essay that i submitted to MIT, containing about half the words of the first draft -

“Look for the best in everything”.

One of the oldest quotations I know, and something almost universally agreed with.

I beg to differ.

No, I am not a pessimist. I love my life, and am very happy to be the person I am - born to absolutely fantastic parents, with a sound body and mind, having proper education, and loving friends i.e. a beautiful life.

Its just that the question is of my dreams, and these are largely based on what is wrong rather than what is right.

Allow me to explain –

Dreams can be as well based on the “bad” as on the “good”. Dreams of something good – e.g. that sleek new Lamborghini Gallardo or a night out at Mt. Everest – seek to achieve it, while dreams centered on the things that appall – e.g. the little kid picking rags from the trash or a pup run over on the highway – seek to correct the wrong being done.

For me, the latter holds more appeal for two reasons –

1. It doesn’t end with me and makes the world a better place
2. It means going for something that no one before me has either cared or dared to do. (Good things you see have already been achieved; the wrong you see hasn’t been corrected yet…)

After all, it’s the thorns that need work, roses are beautiful anyway.

Mine is certainly not a groundbreaking idea. It’s almost a tradition in my family.

My grandmother runs an underprivileged children’s home, while my mom loves tending to dogs in distress. The two of them have eyes only for the poor, disabled and hungry. As far as they are concerned, well-fed children and thoroughbred dogs may well be a part of decorations. Their reason is simple - happy children and healthy dogs don’t need them.

The rest of my family - including blood relations (my, mom, dad and sister); adopted relations (the 76 children living with my grandmother); and interspecific relations (The several dogs that call my mother ‘mom’) - couldn’t agree more…

My dreams pick up where they leave off.

I dream of a life for my grandma’s children that goes beyond food, shelter, clothing and elementary education. I dream of an education that allows them to compete with the rest of the world. I dream of the day they’ll be writing their own college essays…

I share my mom’s dream of giving every dog a place to call home, of owning a huge chunk of land, where all our pets can run around and be themselves, plus an animal hospital that actually takes care of them rather than just getting them to work again.

And then some more…

I dream of picking up every beggar I see on the streets and giving him a respectable life. I dream of being powerful enough to correct every wrong I see, there and then.

All these ask for more than good intentions, muscle power and ‘awareness’. Most of these require money by the truck loads and a bit of clout too. Celebrity status would be an added advantage.

That said, the ideal career for me seems to be politics or administration. But my observation finds it easier to kick a government into action from outside than to get it moving via proper protocol. Mr. Bill Gates, in a single visit, was able to push the Indian govt.’s AIDS program several ‘years’ ahead.

So there is my target in sight. No activism, no politics. I aim to be a billionaire businessman, and a popular one at that, So that when I appeal to people to shun female feticide, they sit up and listen. The road couldn’t be clearer. Get into a college that gives me a spring board into the arena (read MIT), and then fight it out with all I have…

Its not like luxuries of life don’t appeal to me at all. They most certainly do. But they are too small to seriously bother about. After all, when I’m able to do so much, I sure can spare some money, and buy myself that Gallardo!!