Why Exams are more stressful?

Why Exams are more stressful than they should be.

Picture 11:03 pm on the clock, everyone asleep or at least trying to sleep. There are a couple of books stacked on the right side of your table, a laptop open with music playing in a single window and your subject notes assembled on the other. A bottle of water on the side or warm tea to keep you awake just so you can stay a little while longer and finish the chapter that is going to somewhat help you pass with a decent grade. Yep, that’s the reality of every student giving their finals right now, even me although I am writing this instead of studying for upcoming exams but that’s okay. Everyone procrastinates.

Exams week or even months in the case of engineering fields is one of the possibly tragic periods of time in our lives. You are sleep deprived, haven’t run a brush through your hair in weeks, don’t care to shave that beard, probably forgotten the last time you ate a well-balanced diet. It’s just one of those natural things we never get used to. We all function badly during exams even though throughout our lives we’ve given so many exams. So why do we never learn from it? Why do we stress about it more than we’re supposed to?

I for one do believe in the fact that you cannot determine a person’s ability based on his grades. Many theories, statements are made about this yet the sad thing is it’s never implemented. We all have different methods as to how we pick up on the things we’re taught. Some of us might be visual learners while some of us might have to view the same thing from a different perspective. It all comes down to one thing- passion.

Passion is very important. It is what drives a person towards greater things. You need to have passion towards something first in order to achieve greatness. For example, just take a good look at grades of two subjects- one being the subject you love the most and the other being the subject you hate studying and put it off all the time. The grade of the subject you love is always going to be high and the best thing about it is – it doesn’t drive you crazy. Studying it takes much less effort for you as you actually enjoy it and you know you’re going to do well.

But then look at the subject you hate- your grades suck, your notes of it are probably the most disturbing things you’ve seen in your entire life and trying to study it is absolute torture where you die mentally at least over 15 times. And you fail in it, making you hate it even more.

Passion clearly makes a difference. Not just in grades but in everyday life. That is why it is very important to know where your interest lies and follow it. The reasons students stress so much and drop out of colleges is because they realize they’ve been studying something they don’t want and feel it’s a waste of time. We’re often taught things that make no sense in the real world or have no use for us, thus making us lack interest and therefore the loss of passion. After that, we just tend to avoid it any way possible which makes it hard during the exams.

Another reason why exams are so stressful is that we’ve been raised with the mindset that good grades are everything. Grades are the first thing people care about. If you have a good grade then great, people are going to think of you as a saint and throw you compliments and rose petals as you walk. If you’ve got a bad or even an average grade you’re going to be marked as a sheep and no one’s even going to give you a single piece of grass. That’s how we’ve been raised. No one cares what we think of ourselves. We just have to fit into the world of other people’s expectations.

Grades don’t matter. I cannot stress enough about this. Grades do not matter, not to your parents who’ve probably lost count of it since you finished your 8th grade and not especially to your future manager who’s going to hire you to work for him. No one is going to talk about the 4.0 GPA you got on few semesters or that you failed all papers an entire semester. They are not going to determine how bright you are or what you deserve. They’re just alphabets on a fancy paper.

What matters is putting the knowledge and skill you have put to use to do things that not only get you paid but make you happy and look forward to waking up each day. That is what matters. An A grade is never going to show how much you’ve really learned about that subject, neither is it going to show your interest for it. I’m not completely against studying or exams they are useful as they do prepare us somewhat. But to rely on it would be stupid. Everything is so ahead these days, a 10-year-old kid can probably Google and tell you the same things a Ph.D. degree holder can. But does that mean that the 10-year-old is smarter than him?

You cannot change your grades. They are always going to be there and you need that college work in if you want a good job. So study, give it your best. Stay awake for another hour if you have to. Work hard for yourself but not for others. Do not let stress take a toll on you and remember the things that actually matter.

Writer: Neha Ojha
Neha is a literature enthusiast who spends most of her time in between reading fictions and writing. Lover of simple pleasure you’ll often find her traveling places, taking pictures and tasting new cuisines.

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