In The End, Absolutely Nothing Can Match The Feeling Of Joy When Board Exams Finish. Here's Why
Board years were one hell of a ride. From assignments to extra classes going from group studies to solo no matter how far we go. Those years will keep giving us mixed emotions when recalled.
Padh le beta, boards hai!
Yes, a line all students giving board exams right now are probably hearing 20 times a day. Well, we all have been there and it isn't the best feeling after all.
They say adulthood is full of challenges, really? Remember class 10th and 12th? Obviously!
Slogging the entire year with R.D Sharma and NCERT books because shuru se padhna is very important, board years were one hell of a ride. From assignments to extra classes, going from group studies to solo, no matter how far we go, those years will keep giving us mixed emotions when recalled. After all we need to carry the jab humne boards diya the story along to tell it to our children.
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Just like other kids, I also believed that board exams were a preview of what the rest of our life will look like. This was a lot of pressure to take and a lot of things were snatched away which were very dear to me.
Life just turned upside down for me when I started doing things according to the timetable my parents made me draw. It¡¯s then I realized that it¡¯s just not another exam that I can just pass and be happy. NO, it does not work that way. By the time I realized this, it was examination time already. However, I know nobody follows that timetable pasted on the study tables.
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The unit tests and pre-boards that followed shattered many beliefs. The month of March came knocking, smirking at me, raising eyebrows, all set to screw a lot like me for a whole month. The datesheet obviously was the worst. That year, none of us played Holi and missed that one cricket world cup final India managed to qualify for.
The roll number I received, still had to be laminated.
'I have to score more than another person,' 'I have to make my parents proud,' 'I need to get into a good college,' 'I need my name in the newspaper as a CBSE topper' were just some of the thoughts that set up shop in my head. 'But wait, first I need to get a highlighter, I need to make notes or borrow some. I need to know which subject/chapter should I start first, I need to know what is not important before I get to the important ones. I need to know how my friends are going about it because I just had to.' It is the first time you realize how you are on your own and nobody can help you but you.
The days get smaller and nights longer; there was something weird about the world and the people around. With high hopes in their eyes and tears in mine, I revised and revised the chapters which weren¡¯t even a part of the syllabus.
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From strategising to procrastinating, it was time. Leaving for the center with just a pen and roll number in my pocket and a spoonful of curd in my mouth, heartbeats refused to slow down. 'Roll number rakh lia?' asked my dad. 'Yes, papa,' I replied.
With each passing exam and repeated ¡®how it went¡¯ questions, the trauma ended with physical education paper. For once I couldn¡¯t believe it was over. Coming out of the center, with happy tears in my eyes, not thinking about the next exam, the jubilation was on another level. The tensed faces turned into smiling ones, people were hugging each other right outside the examination room. And unlike my friends from science, being a humanities student I didn't have to appear for forthcoming AIEEE and other entrances they were obliged to.
The stress left my body all of a sudden and I could see all the good things about life all over again. As little as birds chirping. The smile on my face said it all.
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