It is exam time again and all through the residence, every student is on his/her best behaviour, apart from the odd bout of cabin fever, all is running smoothly.

I have been making a few observations lately and have come to the conclusion that this 'exam' time should be separated into 2 distinct periods. Hibernation, followed by examination. It makes sense that this time would come at the time which is normally so wet and cold, when the students would be doing little anyway. Although this has been a particularly easy winter this year, many students still wear their shorts and t-shirts, some even needing to go topless to escape the heat. Many students are hoping this warm spell will last long enough for them to get back home and their parents can pay for their winter clothes.

Anyway, the student enters the hibernation period by sleeping later into the morning, sometimes leading to a later bedtime. The student only leaves its room for meals, or for short social meetings. It surrounds itself with talismans and insulates it's lair with strips of paper, many with small prayers or blessings written on them, it is said that these actions are meant to ward off the evils of boredom and procrastination, so that when exam time comes the student will be well defended from it's harsh obstacles. As the exams get closer the student starts to eat more, worrying more about quantity than quality, trying to build up an insulating layer of fat, to insulate them during the cold, long hours of examinations. The student becomes lethargic, less willing to enter social activities and starts to worry less about grooming. Soon the student will enter the exam time.

At the start of exams, the entire residence seems to die. All of the music that played at 9 (am and pm), is gone, as if the students have entered into deep meditative state, pouring over ancient writings and preparing for coming trials. Some students start to feel the pressure of coming exams, and although most humans have the gene that lets them deal with stress in a healthy, non-destructive way is not yet active in a student. So they form little gangs, roving the residence, stealing tidbits and leaving messages and offerings to one another. Others start to spend hours running through physical exercise or drills, some turn to alcohol or marijuana, in moderation of course and some even create music.

So, we ask ourselves, what the hell is an exam anyway? What purpose does it fulfill and why do students spend so much time worrying about them when they spend so little time during the rest of the year doing any work whatsoever. Well, we really have no idea what the exams are for, but some theorists point to primitive cultures and show certain similarities between these exams and initiation trials of older cultures. The students seem to hold these exams in some kind of reverence, and even fear. It may be that these 'exams' decide whether the student is ready to enter the adult stage of life. Choosing which students would advance to become productive members of society, or whether they would stay children forever.

Good luck for exams everyone

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