#plus. theres the overwhelming amount of homework

[camelspit]

grand total of 1 art post this month lets get it boys 💪💪💪

[capseycartwright]

random question but any tips on surviving the leaving cert? mocks are less than a week away and they’re so daunting! there just isn’t enough time in the day for everything (I say as I scroll through your tumblr instead of studying..oops) sorry if you don’t want to answer but you’ve obviously done so well for yourself ✨

omg anon no i’m so happy to answer! first of all good luck with the rest of the year - it’ll go by faster than you think, which sounds scary, but honestly, the day you walk out of that last exam feels like a lifetime away right now but you’ll get there and it will be the best!

firstly, fuck the mocks. fuck them, genuinely. i know people who got 600 points in the mocks, and barely go 350 in the actual exams, and vice versa. they’re a good way of seeing where you’re at personally, but they’re not worth stressing over - they’re actually marked differently to the exams, and the questions are generally harder, so they’re not a true reflection of the real thing - take it as a way of seeing how far u are with regard to study, but don’t dwell on them. i absolutely fucked my biology mock paper, and ended up with a B2 in the end, it’s all good.

routine. routine is key. i don’t know how many subjects you’re doing but i did nine, and i did history and geography as two of my optional modules, and they were hella reading heavy, so the work felt super overwhelming, but if you get into a routine, you will be totally okay. i gave each day of the week a different subject (or two, i used to bundle irish and english together bc they were my best subjects) and after i had the usual homework and such done, i’d give each subject two or so hours of focus. it also helps to plan out the sections you need to revise - say you want to cover this chapter by the end of march, the next by april, etc.

take breaks!! anyone who tells you they go home and study for six hours straight is a dirty liar, ngl. even now, i study for like 40 minutes to an hour, and take a five minute break - walk around your room, get a coffee (but don’t drink too much coffee because honestly it doesn’t help) and just step away from your desk for a few minutes. if i was studying for more than two or three hours, i’d take a good half an hour break two hours(ish) in. funnily, my study break all through the leaving cert was watching emmerdale w/ my mum and then getting back to work when it was over at 7:30pm, lmao.

take care of yourself. no amount of study is going to be beneficial if you’re not healthy and happy - eat well, sleep eight hours a night (no all nighters. no.) and exercise, like even just talk a short walk for twenty minutes. all those things keep your brain in order and make it so much easier to get through the exams - its a marathon, really, and you don’t want to burn out when you’ve still got a few months to go.

find ways of studying that are interesting and engaging to you! like, i can’t sit and read a chapter over and over and learn it. i need post it notes, and index cards, and i need to write out quotes and important points. it helped (and still does help tbf) me remember things better, and keeps your brain awake and engaged when you study! plus having little things like index cards leading up to the actual exams are super handy, because you absolutely will not break out a book with twenty minutes to go before irish paper two. you’re only going to want to flick through a few short pieces of paper with the most important points on (otherwise you will stress out way too much, i used to literally put all study materials away with five minutes to go and just breath, and chill out.) 

the most reassuring thing i wish someone had told me when i sat the leaving was how little it was going to matter when it was over. like, work hard and get your grades and points (and even if you don’t, there’s ways around it and back routes into university) but as soon as you step into college, no one honestly cares. hand on heart? i can’t remember exactly how many points i got, lmao. i’d have to dig out my results to be sure. thats the most reassuring thing to me honestly bc it feels like literal hell when you are in sixth year and i can’t even tell you the amount of stress cries i had, but it does pass, and if you’re planning on going to uni theres so many cool and exciting things to look forward to once you walk out of the last exam!! i ripped up my school uniform when i was set free from my german exam, it was freeing.

get cold turkey as well though, and block yourself from websites. i got my dissertation written because of it - you can select websites like tumblr and block yourself from them for whatever length of time you chose, so if you try and access it, you just get a little quote and a screen saying nope, not happening. if you have no self control like i do, it’s a major help!

the best of luck and i am rooting for u and come yell at me if u ever need to, i have done it and survived lmao!