Summer

Summer is my favourite time of the year. Its absolutely magical. As long as you're a student, summer will always be that magical time of the year, when there's no exams to study for, no classes to attend, and nothing in general to care about. That time of the year when the extroverts get their shorts out and the population at the beach increases by exponential numbers.

Though an introvert at heart, there are times when I absolutely cannot resist summer's call at times. When I go out, I almost always come back home tired because of the heat, but that rarely stops me from going out in the heat, next time around. There's just something so inspiring and carefree about summer, about the memories you make. Summer is equated to memories by many people. If you're young, this is very true. You have the freedom to go out with your friends, step outside and enjoy a warm summer's evening stroll, go to an outdoor café and catch up with your best friend (how about getting in touch with one you haven't talked to in a while?), look up at the sky and see the moon and stars, roaming the spaces unhinged. You realize, at that time, how small you really are, and I've often observes that that simply deepens my desire to live life in the manner that I want to live it, to make the most of the time that I have here, on this planet. As and when I can.

And of course, summer always means endless hours of relaxation for me, whenever I'm not going out. I see a lot of people use Facebook to post statuses about how much fun they had and proof in the form of photos and check ins. I see people tweeting about it all the time. The thing is, many people don't understand that the essence of a vacation can also be captured at home.Summer can be enjoyed from home too! You can enjoy the sweetest most tender mangoes, you can sit back and sip iced tea, lay on your balcony with your favourite novel, go to the terrace and sit on top of the water tank and watch the sun set.

Summer treasures start from your backyard and stretch the length of the infinity and beyond. It all lies in how you decide to enjoy it! So go out there, vacation with your family, enjoy mangoes, hang out with your friends, wear your favourite floppy hats and big sunglasses. Get out there, on the streets, walking around for no reason other than for the fact that its summer, and you're young, and simply because, you can.

The lazy student's guide to acing exams!

If you're a true lazy student at heart, You would've come across this situation at LEAST once....

So you walk into class, cool as a cucumber, its monday, and you've just got back to school after a weekend of chillin. As you walk into the classroom, a relaxed smile on your face (and no books in your hands), you look around and something suddenly dawns upon you. Everyone is revising or discussing something or something like that, in a panicked frenzied state. You stare blankly ahead, trying to wonder what you're missing, when your  best friend bounds up to you and suddenly rattles off about how she/he had no time to cover the full syllabus, and blah blah

And you're like, "What exam?"

Well, fear not fellow lazy students! It's finally here! The guide you've all been waiting for! The Lazy Student's guide to acing an exam! (Note: Some amount of preparation might be required)

10. Find out what exam it is.

Whether you find out the day/night/morning before the exam, make sure you get the exam subject right. If you find that you just "happen" to have a series of exams, make sure you get your hands on a copy of the time table, and ensure that the dates are correct, and not mixed up. If there's anything worse than not preparing for an exam, or being unaware that you have an exam, its preparing for the wrong subject :-|


9. Work with the limited time that you have.

So it all boils down to how much time you have before the exam. Do you have one day, one hour, half an hour, twenty minutes? Whatever it is, make sure that you DON'T PANIC and learn whatever you can.

8. Material

You're working on limited time here! Get your hands on whatever material you can, to at least do a little bit of reading, whether its a textbook, some notes from your friends, or a quick discussion with them, ensure that you get at least a little bit into your head

7. Keep calm

The easiest and most natural reaction is to panic.

Err sorry, wrong poster, but you get the point...

{Although in retrospect, I must say, learning to fly would be a pretty darn useful skill, at that point of time}


6. Manipulate

There is no way on Earth you can pass any exam (with or without any preparation) without manipulating your answers. Its simply not enough if you know information, what really matters, is how you manipulate the untrained viewer into thinking that you know more than you actually do.

5. Additional sheets

It really doesn't matter if you're writing proper answers, or the script of Dil Toh Pagal Hai. An additional sheet can be crucial in making a good impression. When a person picks up your paper to correct it, and sees an additional sheet trailing along with it, he/she will soften a little. It doesn't matter even if you use only the first side/page of the additional sheet. This really matters.

4. Attempt to answer all questions

It doesn't matter all that much if you actually know the answer to the question or not, one of the keys to passing an exam, is simply attempting all the answers. Make your answers look detailed and long winded. This might impress the person correcting your paper.

3. Never strike things out

This may be extremely difficult for many people (Including myself) but teachers hate it when students score things out. It looks untidy and also gives the impression of a lack of confidence. If you make a mistake, and need to strike a word out, then do so lightly with a pencil. If you need to strike out a passage, draw a line before and after the paragraph in question and draw two neat ruler lines through the passage, striking it out neatly.

2. Rarely...

In the rare occasion that you come across an answer that you do know, write all that you know about it. Highlight, underline, use key phrases, make sure you give the examiner  one hell of an answer to correct!

1.Black pen is your new best friend

Important phrases make or break an answer, and the best part is, if these important phrases are highlighted with a black pen, chances are, the rest of your paltry blue pen answer will go ignored, hence earning you marks for what appears to be, a well thought out, thoroughly revised answer.

NOTE
1. I strongly condone cheating, however, if you can do it without getting caught, go right ahead.
2. There are rare cases in which, teachers actually read the answers that you write. In that case.... God help you...
3. When a teacher stands behind you, staring into your paper, don't freak out, just smoothly turn the page, to the next blank sheet, and look at your question paper, pretending to be in deep thought as to how to write your next answer till they lose interest and go away.

4. Use good english, proper grammer, etc.. Teachers love that.
5. If you know about an exam in advance, it really helps to prepare a few days in advance... Which is actually a lot easier than manipulating the answers, etc etc :P :P :P

All the best, students!