You’re almost there, and a couple of examinations stand in the way of your adult life.
Whatever the adult life you envisage for yourself, these exams are not only important, but they won’t get any easier later in life; it’s not like a tertiary exam or apprenticeship is designed to be something you can get through with less effort.
Now that the pomp and pageantry of farewells, 40 days, shirt signings and handing batons is over, it may seem like there’s plenty of time to stuff around between exams.
It may make sense since your focus has gone from an array of leadership duties, sports, cultural activities, projects and civic duty to a single focus on some exams.
Perhaps there’s also some focus on the party you’re planning for late November, but let’s be honest, that’s been planned for months already.
That extra “free” time can be overwhelming, and you can fall into a pit of convincing yourself that your revision can wait until the night before, until you realise you’d rather go to sleep, down a can of caffeine at 4am and start 5 hours before your exam.
Discipline
The real test of matric exams is how disciplined you can be, and that alone can translate into a significant mark improvement.
One or two long questions can be the difference between NSC levels, which in turn can affect whether you pass or what type of pass you get.
I promise you that the episode you’ve already comfort-watched four times will be there in December. I promise you that every reel, post and TikTok will still be there once you’ve put your pen down for the last time this year. I even promise you that you will have so much time between finishing your last exam and starting the next leg of your journey that you’ll be bored by Reconciliation Day, so there’s really no need to rush to your vices.
ALSO READ: Matric pupils urged to uphold integrity ahead of final exams
ABC time
Now is the real ABC time – Apply Bum to Chair- and get cracking.
It’s just over a month until this is over – all of it – your school career. You do yourselves a disservice if you don’t take this last bit seriously because it’s really the part that has the most impact on your futures – 12 or more years to get to this one month,.
When somebody looks at your report, that 87% you got in grade 9 won’t matter anymore. All that matters is the last mark on your final school certificate.
I know it’s been exhausting listening to so many people tell you how important these exams are, but so many people can’t be wrong.
Nobody is expecting all of you to get full marks, as glorious as that would be. The expectation is that you give yourselves the best possible chance at the best marks you can muster instead of falling off at the last minute.
Cut out the noise from social media, the pressures from institutions’ minimum requirements, and family expectations. None of that is nearly as helpful as just sitting down learning your work.
Breaks are important and can even be helpful if employed strategically. You’ll have plenty of time for partying later, so a reflective walk or a bit of exercise wouldn’t cost you anything.
There will be those who will tell you that the system is broken, that the matric certificate is rubbish. Well, you’re in the system all the same, and how bad would you look if you didn’t even work at picking up the rubbish?
Not only do we want you to excel, we need you to. We have problems all over the country, and they’re not going to be fixed by a generation that won’t apply themselves in the short term for long-term gains.
Don’t be that generation.
Matrics of 2025. The stage is set. Be the best that you can be. Dezemba is around the corner, and it’s so much better when you’ve worked for it.
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