The day of the continuous assessment was fast approaching, and all I had learned was nothing but how to panic. Although I had crammed a few parts of the curriculum in the last few hours, it sure wasn’t enough to prepare me for the mountain of materials that I still needed to cover. A part of me felt like I might even forget the crammed note by the time I face the test. I really underestimated the workload, thinking I could pull it all together at the last minute.
Now, with less than 24 hours to go, I was staring at my notes in fear, barely retaining anything and the pressure was overwhelming. I could slowly feel the weight of failure downing on me.
Just as I was about to give up, well, with the thought that “what will be will be,” my phone vibrated. It was a message from the department group chat: “Due to unforeseen circumstances, the test has been cancelled and postponed till next week.” I stared at the screen in disbelief, my heart racing. I felt a sense of relief immediately, I chatted with the class representative privately to confirm and it turned out to be true. I was so happy for the new opportunity.
Soon, pressure set in again. This time around, it was clear that I couldn’t afford to waste the second chance.
I decided to approach things differently this time. I had made the mistake of trying to cram everything all at once before, and clearly, it didn’t work. Now, with one full week bagged, I sat down and created a study plan. I divided the topics into sections and assigned each section a certain time slot. The first thing I changed was to study with the purpose of understanding and not just cramming.
The first few hours of the first day felt so slow. Studying felt so hard. My brain was still tired, and the thought of what I had to cover overwhelmed me. I gave up a few times. Still, I kept going, taking it one subtopic at a time. To keep myself motivated, I set small goals - when I finish a chapter, I’ll take a short break, then move to the next topic. I bought a few provisions that I ate as I studied to keep myself energized and I also downloaded a series. After studying hard each day, I rewarded myself with an episode of the series. Slowly, the bulky material began to make sense. With each topic I mastered, I grew in confidence.
By the end of the third day, I had covered more than I thought I could ever cover before the test. I realized how much I had underestimated myself when I gave in to fear. The extra time did give me clarity - not just to study, but to believe in my ability to handle what I thought was too difficult and also succeed at it.
The fourth day was even more productive. I woke up early, refreshed, determined and full of energy. I spent the morning revising the topics I had struggled with the day before. I even practiced possible questions that my friends curated, something that I hadn’t done before. There always wasn’t time for it because I’d be too focused on just trying to absorb everything at the rush hours. On the last day of the week, I could answer all of the curated questions. Although I wasn’t perfect, I just knew that I was prepared for the first time in weeks.
When I walked into the test hall on that Monday, I was calm. A bit nervous of course, but I wasn’t consumed by it like usuals. As I glanced through the questions, I realized I knew the answers to most of them. I wrote steadily with my mind focused and clear. I finished answering the questions earlier and I had enough time to go over my work before I submitted.
A week later, the results came out and I passed with flying colors. The joy I felt wasn’t just about the high score, it was about what I had learned during those days of last week. The second chance was worth it and I know that it’s not just about the opportunity but what I did with it. My time management, discipline and determination. I could have postponed my studying till about three days to the test again and then begin my cycle of fear and cramming but I chose to manage my time better and I got an amazing reward for it.
Thank you for reading.
