Final Exam Survival Tips

Finals are really stressful for many of us. The preparations are one thing - making a check-list of what to learn, planning when and in the end actually learning it all. But when the exam is actually taking place, there are a few additional challenges to face which no one really thinks about beforehand. 

1. Get up early the day before the exam, too. If you have to get up at 7 am, it could be a good idea to get up at half past six the day before to be prepared to go to bed earlier that evening. 

2. Don't learn too much one day before the exam. It's okay to do a few quick exercises, but you should be done with all the topics up to this point and therefore should not have to learn anything new anymore. Instead, just repeat what you've already learned and take a bath before bedtime if you like. Do something relaxing. Thinking you will have that one essential realisation is probably an illusion anyway, so you should concentrate on not worrying too much instead. 

3. Don't let the others get you nervous. When you're having your final exams, you're usually asked to come a bit earlier than you're officially required to. Chances are that you'll stand in front of the room you'll be taking the test in, together with some of your fellow students. Try not to talk about the subject of the exam and if someone does, don't worry if you don't understand what they're talking about - you probably won't need that anyway and even if so, you'll understand it a lot better when you read it during the exam. 

4. Take a safe item with you. Exams can be extremely stressful and frustrating at times. That's why I'd suggest taking something nice with you, such as a lucky charm or a small plush toy. Just make sure that it's something that is allowed to be brought with you. 

5. Take some candy with you. Of course you shouldn't forget something "normal" to eat and a bottle of water either, but candy really helps calming down and thinking more clearly. And it'll treat you quite a bit, most of all if you choose chocolate. But get rid of any loud wrappers before you leave the house and just put the candy into a small lunchbox so that you won't disturb your fellow students during the exam.

6. Check how much time you needed for each assignment. In exams like this, you'll have a lot of time and a ton of assignments. If you're just a tiny bit too slow, the time loss could build up throughout the exam and you might not be able to finish all the assignments on time. So be careful to check the clock after at least every other assignment and adjust your pace accordingly.

Bonus tip: Use a biro for writing. What has been written with a biro can't be washed away by water (in contrast to ink). So if you accidentally spill your water over the paper, the thing can still be read and you won't have to start all over again. And you won't have any trouble with a leaking pen cartridge either. I suggest taking at least three biros with you, just to be sure. 

So those are my tips for final exams. Do you have any additional tips or did something different? Let me know in the comments. And for those who haven't had their exams yet: good luck and don't panic!

Graduation - the Beginning of the Real Life?

As a child, I never really thought about life; I knew I was alive and I was thinking that life would always be that way. I didn't have a lot of trouble, I was just having fun with other children, everyone around me was happy and no one seemed to have any problem that was more serious than losing a toy at the playground. 
That was until I went to elementary school. I had really been looking forward to going to school, being one of the "big kids" who know a lot of things. I hated elementary from the first day on. I hated having to spend time at school on things I already knew. There were quite a few interesting things we learned at elementary school though and that were the days when I came home and was simply happy. I spent my whole time at elementary thinking that life would be better once I'm done with school because working couldn't be worse than this, could it?
When the time had come for me to go to fifth grade, to another school, I was really excited. The holidays didn't seem to go by and my pleasant anticipation grew with every day. Then, when the holidays were finally over, secondary school turned out to be even worse than elementary. My new classmates seemed to hate me, I didn't have that one class teacher that held most lessons but for each subject I got a different teacher. And the surprise tests started. We hadn't had any surprise tests at elementary. We had known exactly when the next test would be. But in secondary, that calming feeling of security was simply wiped out. So I spent years at secondary, wondering how long it would take to get to 11th grade and finally being able to decide what I want to learn. During this period of my life, I thought that the real life would begin once I'll have retired in about half a century. To me, "life" meant to be able to do whatever I want to with the time I have. I can't remember the time before I went to kindergarten. So my real life would come when I'm old. 
11th grade came just as fifth grade has come; I was excited, I couldn't wait to finally be allowed to choose the subjects I want to take. Well, there wasn't much to choose; out of 14ish subjects I used to have, I had to pick 10, but there were strict rules concerning what can be chosen in which combinations. So in the end I was stuck with 4 subjects I absolutely hated, 2 I didn't care about and 4 I actually wanted. Turned out later that one of the subjects I wanted simply wasn't a good choice, but it's fine, I hate it but I'll get through it. In a good two weeks I'll never have to worry about it anymore, so that's great. I just remembered the saying on our graduation pullovers; it says "start life", as if life would start right after graduation. But if my life starts in a few weeks, what has this all been? What has all the time spent laughing, crying, dreaming, creating.. what has this all been if not life? It won't magically get better. We won't be happier just because we graduated. Life won't get easier. Life won't simply begin after graduation. It'll be different of course, it'll be difficult, it'll be easier at times. But we've already experienced major changes in our lives, so that's not a concept that's new to us.
Nevertheless, there's a bit of truth in this saying; it'll be the first major decision that only we alone can make. We'll decide where to go, how to get there and at which pace. We'll decide on our occupation, whether we want to study or do an internship first. We will have the power to decide, on our own, what we'll turn our life into. May it be getting famous, earning lots of money or doing what we really want to do against all odds - it will be us who decide. 

Happy New Year 2018!

Time for New Year's resolutions! As we probably all know, people are more likely to stick to their resolutions if they share them. So I'll start doing that right away!

For this year, I decided on a few managable New Year's resolutions which I will actually try to manage.
So, on the one hand I will continue learning for my Abitur exams tomorrow and I will keep repeating everything until the exams are over in about a month.
I'll be nicer and more understanding towards everyone around me and will also help more people. I also plan on spending more time with the people I like because when the exams are over, I'll have some more time to relax and hang out with friends and family.
Talking about time, I'm also keen on spending more time on sewing and maybe learning a few more skills to be able to make better plushies and clothing that actually fits. I'll start pretty soon since I definitely decided on sewing my dress for the graduation ball myself (since I couldn't find one I really liked anywhere in a store or online; you can find the prototype I made for my doll here).
I want to do more sports and eat more slowly and maybe I'll finally lose some weight this year.

So that's my list of good resolutions for 2018. What New Year's resolutions do you have? Let me know in the comments and I wish you all a happy and healthy new year!