Coursework Buzz

High school - a life of freedom, friends, summers, terms, work, stress, deadlines, pressure, hardwork, coursework, tests, exams, oh, and prom.

Having just finished my last year at high school and soon to be moving on to college I really felt like a bit of advice for the year groups to follow my footsteps was in order. The word that springs to mind in relation to this 'house of education' is quite simply, stress, but the thing is I could of helped myself out a lot and avoided a lot of it and it was the lack of trying to succeed that left me in that position.

The fact is that this stress was caused by the pressure of all the coursework deadlines as well as the idea of exams. In my mind the gigantic list of coursework deadlines just built up and scared me, leaving me unable to even create a decent piece of work to hand in. I missed deadlines and fell behind and it just overcome me, which is why on the 20th August I am going to receive grades that do not reflect me at all. 

In all honesty, there is just something about the concept of examinations that completely and utterly freaked me out. Whether it was the room, the fact that I am an utter perfectionist or that it was my only chance to get the grades. I was always scared of the thought 'what if I have a bad day?' which led every day being a bad day and my exams were just incomplete.

Now, I am not writing this to scare you or to fill you with dread, I guess I am writing this as a review on my mistakes and hoping that you don't follow them and can learn from them. 

Exams aren't the end of the world and if you are having a bad day, it is okay for many subjects as they have coursework that can differ from 25% of the grade to 75% so these deadlines can really help you to secure a grade that you deserve. Unlike subjects as such as Maths, the majority of my lessons did have coursework or controlled assessments that would count for my final grade, allowing me to have more of a say in the results I got.

But here is the thing...

Coursework doesn't seem any different from an English essay you rush the night before to hand in the next day for homework, or the Science experiment where you basically just copy out of a textbook or off the board. So the whole 'this piece is due in for a year today' (yes I am looking at you Textiles) just seems like a 'sweet no work for a few months', but the thing is every second counts. 

I really cannot help but stress that it is actually a really important aspect of your work and that you should try your best and avoid leaving it all till last minute.

At the end of the day, this time is stressful enough, and if it means not going out for that one night or putting your phone to the side for a few hours and catching up with your schoolwork, do it! Trust me you will thank yourself later. Exams are difficult and although that the third graph for Chemistry might seem a chore, get it done, it will only bite you in the bum later.

So, please if you take anything from this, take this bit of advice - your exams are important, but never put your mental or physical well being before them, they are a stressful time and you can do little things to prevent stress in the long run. (Oh and if you fall behind, ASK FOR HELP)

But don't let this essay of a post scare you, don't forget to enjoy yourself, take it easy - but not too easy, relax and take a breath. Embrace every second of your last year because it ends so quickly and so suddenly.

I hope this helps.

Love Always, 

Abbie-June x

Don't forget to smile because you're that little bit more stress free.