the other side...
My second year final exams eventually draw to a close on Thursday with the Quantum Mechanics paper. The paper itself was alright - not too difficult and mostly do-able. In fact, I actually enjoyed doing it.
I hope that I could say the same for my Electromagnetism paper but alas, I have long known that I might have to struggle a little for that paper. At least the Optics bit went well for me.
Another disappoinment for me was the Application of Quantum Mechanics and Electrons in Solids paper; not so much that the topic was difficult - the topics are relatively straightforward and I enjoyed both of them tremendously. But as they say, the devil is in the details - some of the equations I used are off by a factor of 2 or maybe a missing factor of h (Planck's constant). So even though I wasn't entirely wrong, my answers weren't wholly right either.
As for the rest of the papers - Statistical Physics, Thermodynamics, Sun, Stars & Planets, Maths - I believe I did pretty well on all of them and I am thankful for that.
Funnily enough, I didn't welcome the end of my exams with as much gladness as I would like to this year - not that I usually do that is.
Perhaps it is because my second year exams felt more like one long marathon rather than a 100 meters dash and as such, one doesn't come to rely on a short burst of momentum or a quick feeling of exhilaration to get oneself through it.
I started the race without being able to see the finish line - which doesn't imply any failure of foresight on my behalf - but somehow changes my attitude towards the whole notion of the exams.
It is not something just to be done and gotten over with; it is not something that exist just to be conquered or subdued; and it is certainly not some Goliath that demanded to be slayed.
Rather, I believe it feels more like a journey, the fruits of which you gather along the way and the final destination only serves as an impetus for you to start the journey in the first place.
In other words, the ends lies in the means itself.
I suppose there are subtle differences between the first and second year exams; the subjects more challenging but equally more interesting and engaging; the workload heavier but more fulfilling and so on and so forth.
I don't know but somehow the second year exams felt less like a platform for you to prove your worth or your standing among your peers but more like an exercise to test whether you can cope with the long periods of mental and intellectual excitation.
It is not a test of speed but a test of pace; not a measure of aceeleration but of endurance.
At least, that's how it felt to me this year as I pondered over the revisions I did, preparations I made and the actual exams I took. And I enjoyed every minute of it.
I admit that I could have done in some aspects or invested a more concentrated effort on certain matters. There are always plenty of room for improvements - and I think this come about not solely because something had gone wrong.
I suppose when you begin to see your exams not as a one off or a once-done-I-am-okay thing, you will perceive your past mistakes and hesitancy not as the end of the world but as a minor detour, a course correction you will have to make if you wish to continue your passage down this choosen path.
I am not suggesting that one should tolerate incompetencies or obvious flaws, but trying to eliminate them altogether is not the way to go either.
Ignorance might be a convenient trait to have but one does not live in this world purely for convenience's sake, right?
I've made the journey and reached the other side. But my satisfaction lies not in ultimately reaching the destination but in travessing the path in the first place.
Because sometimes, as much as you would like to reach the light at the end of the tunnel, you will miss the faint shimmer of the gems of opportunities in the dark that surrounds you.
And once you have reached the end, perhaps you will find that light at the end of the tunnel might not dazzle you as much as you thought it would, for it only seemed so earlier because of the darkness you were in.
And sadly, there are no resits.
I hope that I could say the same for my Electromagnetism paper but alas, I have long known that I might have to struggle a little for that paper. At least the Optics bit went well for me.
Another disappoinment for me was the Application of Quantum Mechanics and Electrons in Solids paper; not so much that the topic was difficult - the topics are relatively straightforward and I enjoyed both of them tremendously. But as they say, the devil is in the details - some of the equations I used are off by a factor of 2 or maybe a missing factor of h (Planck's constant). So even though I wasn't entirely wrong, my answers weren't wholly right either.
As for the rest of the papers - Statistical Physics, Thermodynamics, Sun, Stars & Planets, Maths - I believe I did pretty well on all of them and I am thankful for that.
Funnily enough, I didn't welcome the end of my exams with as much gladness as I would like to this year - not that I usually do that is.
Perhaps it is because my second year exams felt more like one long marathon rather than a 100 meters dash and as such, one doesn't come to rely on a short burst of momentum or a quick feeling of exhilaration to get oneself through it.
I started the race without being able to see the finish line - which doesn't imply any failure of foresight on my behalf - but somehow changes my attitude towards the whole notion of the exams.
It is not something just to be done and gotten over with; it is not something that exist just to be conquered or subdued; and it is certainly not some Goliath that demanded to be slayed.
Rather, I believe it feels more like a journey, the fruits of which you gather along the way and the final destination only serves as an impetus for you to start the journey in the first place.
In other words, the ends lies in the means itself.
I suppose there are subtle differences between the first and second year exams; the subjects more challenging but equally more interesting and engaging; the workload heavier but more fulfilling and so on and so forth.
I don't know but somehow the second year exams felt less like a platform for you to prove your worth or your standing among your peers but more like an exercise to test whether you can cope with the long periods of mental and intellectual excitation.
It is not a test of speed but a test of pace; not a measure of aceeleration but of endurance.
At least, that's how it felt to me this year as I pondered over the revisions I did, preparations I made and the actual exams I took. And I enjoyed every minute of it.
I admit that I could have done in some aspects or invested a more concentrated effort on certain matters. There are always plenty of room for improvements - and I think this come about not solely because something had gone wrong.
I suppose when you begin to see your exams not as a one off or a once-done-I-am-okay thing, you will perceive your past mistakes and hesitancy not as the end of the world but as a minor detour, a course correction you will have to make if you wish to continue your passage down this choosen path.
I am not suggesting that one should tolerate incompetencies or obvious flaws, but trying to eliminate them altogether is not the way to go either.
Ignorance might be a convenient trait to have but one does not live in this world purely for convenience's sake, right?
I've made the journey and reached the other side. But my satisfaction lies not in ultimately reaching the destination but in travessing the path in the first place.
Because sometimes, as much as you would like to reach the light at the end of the tunnel, you will miss the faint shimmer of the gems of opportunities in the dark that surrounds you.
And once you have reached the end, perhaps you will find that light at the end of the tunnel might not dazzle you as much as you thought it would, for it only seemed so earlier because of the darkness you were in.
And sadly, there are no resits.
posted by wanaimran at
10:09 AM
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