Battling Exams

The principals voice booms over the settling students like a civil defense siren forewarning an air strike of evaluation. The rules are read out to us but whiz by me like bullets as I cling to every fact I had studied off of my course review sheet the night before. I Rush to the first page of questions with a naive battle cry and a fatalist attitude hoping it would be enough to survive the final. Unsolved questions lay scattered across the page like fallen comrades crying for an answer. Unable to believe my eyes I Look up at the giant clock that looms over the silent gymnasium and see the reflection of the unprepared look around at their fellow sleep deprived; unanimously everyone’s thoughts harmonizing in one big realization that we should have paid attention while we still had the chance. I continue to look around as my silent plea for aid to the screaming questions on my paper echoes throughout my mind. My unpreparedness for this crucial moment is seeping out of my pores in a toxic sheen that hugs my body like Kevlar. The stress of not knowing half of the topics so far and the future fear of still not knowing what’s to follow intensify my nerves as I start to tap my foot in time to my racing pulse. Wanting to just wave the white flag and surrender my chances of passing, I lay my head down and think of the grades waiting for me on the other side of this battle. They wave in excitement as cheer me on, reminding me there’s only one more page left to go. Coming out of the mirage, my blood boils as I hurl myself through the unknown. My parched throat begs for more water as I gulp down the liquid as if it were the knowledge that I need. Dodging the teachers exacting stares, I head into battle for the last time. Hardly being able to keep myself upright I continue my trek through the lead covered bubble sheets and fields of foolscap that litter my desk; unsolved questions lay scattered across the page like fallen comrades. Fully loaded clips of rapid fire multiple choice questions are the only obstacles blocking my path to freedom. The exhaustion of studying countless borrowed notes clearly noticeable on my shell shocked face. My last gust of black ink is just enough to make it through the essay questions just as the 3 hour mark is about to ring. Saluting the questions I failed to answer, I limp out of that exam in a dazed state of completion and a war torn mind.

Ready, Set, Go!

 

Graduation is looming, the momentous ceremony that our parents have been dreaming about since we could walk is finally upon us, and there's nothing we can do to slow down these last few moments to savor the excitement in the air under our beloved luminescent lighting. A symphony of shuffling feet files into the main office reluctant to hand in the uneconomical amount of money we are forced to pay just to apply to graduate. With thoughts of university application fees, residency application fees, school fees, graduation fees, and every other expense that cripple our wallets, we smile meekly at the secretaries as we hand over the dough that once promised us a chance at a social life. Unfortunately, with no promise of actually passing our classes to make the steep amount worthwhile, we spend the next 5 months cramming knowledge into our brains so we can take a test that will calculate weather or not we get to spend thousands of dollars on post-secondary education. Yes, the time has come for us to trade a glowing, debtless life for an existence filled with the back breaking promise of repaying thousands of dollars back to student loans for years to come. When we are 35, we may look back on our $200 graduation photo, that depict the girls with their $80 curls and professional "au natural" $50 makeover, in our $75 yearbook that we've looked at twice since our 10th year reunion, and think "yes, the ridiculous amount of money I spent on my high school graduation was totally worth the next 4 months of starvation I endured at university." Congratulations class of 2014, we finally did it. We are finally free.

Celebrities, Artists, and Visionaries OH MY!

With the wind at her back, pushing her forward to greatness, this 5' 1'' spunky, peace keeper, is destined to change the world. But, her strong dislike towards the decline of society's knowledge, and peaceful international relations can be described by her friends as "the grumpy cat feature" in Haley's programming. Known for ranting about politics and current events at the family dinner table, this early graduate is as ravenous for knowledge of other countries, as Daryl, from The Walking Dead, is to kill zombies with his crossbow. With Haley's love for "cult classic" movies, it's no wonder she gets most of her satire humor and rich personality from her favorite director Kevin Smith, and hopes to one day journey to Jay and Silent Bob's Secret Stash, a comic book store owned by Smith. As her love for The Beatles progressively grows more tenacious every day, her idol, John Lennon has inhabited her starry little eyes for the last 6 years of her brief and expeditious life. She often asks herself, "what would John do?", when she finds herself needing a little help from her friends with life. Recurrently dreaming of one day finding a love like John and Yoko's, Haley finds herself up in the clouds, more often than not, imagining her impact in history. Surely with this vivacious young lady's determination, boldness, and tenacity, she will be able to mediate her way through any situation life hurls towards her.