So this whole year...like, 2013 Sept. to now, has been full of studying for my A level exams because guess what; A levels ACTUALLY is a huge huge jump from O levels.
I did the CIE board, which is different from the Edexcel one that I completed my O levels in, and boy, was that hard.
Let me tell you a story about studies.
So, studying in Sharjah since forever, I was enrolled in an academically competitive school, and- although I'm not boasting- I was always at the upper middle rank to say. Not extremely smart to get As in all classes, but had a fair share of As to Bs...maybe Cs in between. I stopped studying long ago, but still scored comparatively well by just reading and such.
In O levels, I went for maths tutions because I was horrible at maths, but that was the only tough thing I did. I never completed past papers too. Yet I got an average of A in my 10 Edexcel O levels.
It was only natural when I went to another school in Dubai, that I disregarded the head of senior school teachers' words "it is a big leap, your As will fall to Cs. And it'd Edexcel to CIE, you'll have it tough" because I thought it was those things the they tell you to scarethe shit out of you. I decided to change myself from the boring girl to an active, cheery girl that time, and found many wonderful friends. And the studying went out of the window. We had two mocks in a school year, and all of our friends of 7 or so , save two, used to get Es and Us which for us was a laughing matter.
Except when the actual AS exams came rolling, it stopped being a joke.
Especially during my Chemistry paper 2, which is of structured kind, my mind went blank and kept thinking of the Us I got in mocks.
In my AS year, I got ccdd in English, Maths, Physics and Chemistry respectively.
When I had my results staring at me from the mobile phone, I was in shock. I was sure I would not do worse than one C, based on the years when I felt my exams were horrible but came back with As. I was disappointed beyond anything, and my friends did worse than me. They got Us and Es like in the mocks, and that was when I realized I had no rights to bemoan my own shortcomings.
And I retook all the four AS subjects along with A2 Maths, English and Physics, dropping my eternal enemy Chemistry.
During my A2, I can't remember a single moment when I didn't have exams and results on my mind. All the friends had gone, joining universities (in U.A.E getting admission in unis are a petty matter; they take you with whatever you get), while it was only my friend and I from our group who stayed to complete high school, so I had only one friend who was as desperate to pull up a grade and supported me.
Despite all the studying, during mock exams I was constantly brought back to reality that I am not as smart as I made out myself to be, pathetic I know. I still couldn't get better at my AS ones, let alone surpass Cs and Ds in them.
The first day of exams, I had three subjects, English, Physics and Maths. That was how packed my timetable was.
Cutting more depression with studying and shunning animes and friends for a year, I got ACC, in English, Physics and Maths, and a b in Chemistry. I don't know if I slacked off and couldn't improve much, but I am fine with the results. Not as good maybe, but still better than what I would have gotten had I not studied like a madman and continued with the way I was.
But again, by doing so I sacrificed the last year I could have been with my friends before coming back to Japan. I can't tell if my grades were good enough to compromise with the time I could have spent with them. I don't know, but I worked hard and studied so I don't have any regrets either.
A true story of an average girl who almost flunked her exams, yours truly.
I did the CIE board, which is different from the Edexcel one that I completed my O levels in, and boy, was that hard.
Let me tell you a story about studies.
So, studying in Sharjah since forever, I was enrolled in an academically competitive school, and- although I'm not boasting- I was always at the upper middle rank to say. Not extremely smart to get As in all classes, but had a fair share of As to Bs...maybe Cs in between. I stopped studying long ago, but still scored comparatively well by just reading and such.
In O levels, I went for maths tutions because I was horrible at maths, but that was the only tough thing I did. I never completed past papers too. Yet I got an average of A in my 10 Edexcel O levels.
It was only natural when I went to another school in Dubai, that I disregarded the head of senior school teachers' words "it is a big leap, your As will fall to Cs. And it'd Edexcel to CIE, you'll have it tough" because I thought it was those things the they tell you to scare
Except when the actual AS exams came rolling, it stopped being a joke.
Especially during my Chemistry paper 2, which is of structured kind, my mind went blank and kept thinking of the Us I got in mocks.
In my AS year, I got ccdd in English, Maths, Physics and Chemistry respectively.
When I had my results staring at me from the mobile phone, I was in shock. I was sure I would not do worse than one C, based on the years when I felt my exams were horrible but came back with As. I was disappointed beyond anything, and my friends did worse than me. They got Us and Es like in the mocks, and that was when I realized I had no rights to bemoan my own shortcomings.
And I retook all the four AS subjects along with A2 Maths, English and Physics, dropping my eternal enemy Chemistry.
During my A2, I can't remember a single moment when I didn't have exams and results on my mind. All the friends had gone, joining universities (in U.A.E getting admission in unis are a petty matter; they take you with whatever you get), while it was only my friend and I from our group who stayed to complete high school, so I had only one friend who was as desperate to pull up a grade and supported me.
Despite all the studying, during mock exams I was constantly brought back to reality that I am not as smart as I made out myself to be, pathetic I know. I still couldn't get better at my AS ones, let alone surpass Cs and Ds in them.
The first day of exams, I had three subjects, English, Physics and Maths. That was how packed my timetable was.
Cutting more depression with studying and shunning animes and friends for a year, I got ACC, in English, Physics and Maths, and a b in Chemistry. I don't know if I slacked off and couldn't improve much, but I am fine with the results. Not as good maybe, but still better than what I would have gotten had I not studied like a madman and continued with the way I was.
But again, by doing so I sacrificed the last year I could have been with my friends before coming back to Japan. I can't tell if my grades were good enough to compromise with the time I could have spent with them. I don't know, but I worked hard and studied so I don't have any regrets either.
A true story of an average girl who almost flunked her exams, yours truly.
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