It’s all over! Chemistry and Sentimentality.

Tuesday, at 5pm, I officially finished my Leaving Cert.
I walked out of those school gates, knowing I’d never ever have to return and I’ve got to say- it felt great.
I apologise for the gap before posting- I was getting very drunk. Very very drunk.

This year’s Chemistry Paper was delightful.  I was genuinely extremely pleased with the exam- even though my vast knowledge of Chemical Equilibrium was totally wasted on it. Where was Le Chatelier’s Principle, eh?

The experiments were all lovely, and I flew through them- Iron Tablets, Ethene/Ethyne, Flame Tests/ Anions. Jizzed my pants. I think most people did. Groans of relief and pleasure emanated from every corner of that exam hall when those pink pages were turned over.
I had 8 questions completely done and double or triple checked by 4pm, an hour before the Paper was to be over. I did an extra two, and all the small extra bits and pieces I could manage- Lovely.

I did think the Rates of Reactions question was a tad confusing though- I left that one out completely. Also, the bit about Electrolysis in Question 10, which was luckily avoidable, was a joke. I’m sure it would have been easy had I ever so much as glanced at the chapter, but who actually thought it’d appear on the paper? Who knew? Probably most people. Not me though!

Overall- Happy with it. Maybe it wasn’t totally A1 level, but I’ve a feeling I knew more for it than I did for Chemistry last year. So I ought to beat a B1, then.
How did everyone else find it?

General reflection and sentimentality

It’s been quite the year, and I’ve definitely changed a lot. We all have. I started off as a diligent student- willing to sacrifice everything to get as many points as possible. For about a month, I knew what I had to do, and I was willing to do it. Unfortunately, that was last September/ October and I’ve degenerated majorly since then. It’s been a downward spiral into “How well can I get on with as little work as possible?” Well, I’ll let you all know in August. It would be pretty damn terrible if I got less points this year than last year but, realistically, it’s very possible. Very very possible.

Choosing to repeat was a very difficult thing to do, but if I could go back a few months I’d probably decide to do it all again anyway.
While I’m turning back time and stuff, I might have decided to, y’know, work a little harder too. Maybe. But whatever.
Don’t get me wrong- it was a painful year. A year of stress and AGONY at times, but I guess it wasn’t so bad. There were countless days where I just felt too fed up to venture into school, but wasn’t allowed to stay at home- I visited a lot of friends’ houses this year, and the library became something of a second home.
I’d still say, though, that I had one of the best attendance records of all the repeats!
I met a lot of horrible people who I’m delighted I’ll never have to speak to again, but I also made some great friends and encountered some truly great people (This is where I’d like to mention me ol’ buddy ol’ chum Jephson, who just genuinely deserves a mention!) To everyone who injected a bit of life into my year- You guys RAWKKK.
I’ve left school before, so I know I won’t keep in touch with the vast majority of my newly-acquired cohorts, but I’ll certainly stay in contact with the best of them. Finally, a degree of sentimentality has hit me. Finally.
On Grad Night I cheered. On Tuesday evening, after my last exam, I screamed expletives regarding the school at my friends. But now, I guess I’ll miss the banter. The craic. The general fun.

To anyone considering repeating- I say, GO FOR IT.
It’s shocking how quickly a year will pass.
There will be days when you’ll miss all of your college-bound friends, days when you’ll resent your various subjects and days when you’ll want to empty your school bag into the bin.
But, why settle for second best? If you’ve your heart set on studying a specific thing in 3rd level and you think it’s actually within your grasp, then what’s a year?
I could have just accepted Pharmacy or Radiation Therapy this year, but I’d have always wondered what life would have been like had I actually gotten Medicine.
If I don’t get it this year, at least I can say that I tried.

So, what now?

Well, as the Leaving Cert’s now over, I haven’t got any reason to stick around writing these blogs, much as I’m sure you’d all love me to.
However, I will be back to let any loyal readers know how I get on with both my HPAT Results (Which I’m finding out on Monday. Gulp. Gulp. Terror. Fear) and, of course, my actual Leaving Cert results this August.

We did it! We can get our lives back!

So, this is it.
This. Is. It.
We can finally all get our lives back.
All of those small sacrifices we had to make, which eventually accumulated to make us total shadows of our former selves- GONE.
Make the Summer of 2009 your best one yet, I know I will.
I’m not sure what to do with myself just yet, but I’ll figure something out!
Go out, get drunk, get merry-happy. Cram as much fun as you can into the next few weeks. Just, enjoy!

Congratulations to everyone!
But, more importantly, best of luck with the results and your offers.

Class of 2009, I’m out.