Thursday, May 17, 2012

Don't Panic...

Exam preparation time has arrived... in 10 days time I sit my first theology exams!

Now I am no stranger to exams. Since starting my A-levels nearly 14 years ago, very few of those years have not involved me sitting an exam of some sort or other. This might make you think that I am an expert at exams, have a honed set exam preparation skills and that I even like exams. Well I can safely say, 'I don't' on all counts, and why at two in the morning, when I should be getting a good night's sleep, I'm blogging!

I hate exams! Why academic institutions or even professional institutions think they are a good way of assessment, I am at a loss. Maybe they want to see if we can handle the pressure, that we can think on our feet or even that they are character building. Maybe they are, but it doesn't stop the feeling of impending doom! And however much I am told 'that you'll be fine', 'you've done the work', 'you've nothing to worry about', I still find myself sitting and starring at pages of notes going 'what?'! And there is the recurring nightmare that I walk in to the exam room, sit down at the desk, turn the paper over and 'I know nothing'!

But all I need to do is remember the words the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy so helpfully has on its front cover 'DON'T PANIC'. I must keep calm, have plenty of rest, drink plenty of water, eat fish - for tomorrow all will be well!

Still hate exams though!

Friday, May 4, 2012

What was that you said?

I'm not renowned for my memory skills and this week I have had to result to writing notes to myself to remind myself to turn the hot water on if I don't want a cold bath! And if I'm honest, I can easily sit in Church on a Sunday morning, listen intently to the sermon and then two minutes later have no idea what was said, just that I quite liked it!

So this morning as I sat in chapel, enjoying prays, thinking to myself 'I really need to remember these', I didn't recollect that actually these were the prayers we said last Friday morning! D'oh!

This, however, links quite nicely with a conversation that was had in the pub last night, when one of my fellow students was recounting how in a ten-week placement he preached the same sermon at the beginning and end of the placement and none of the congregation had a clue. At this he thought he could conclude that actually nobody was listening and so why bother. But then when he pointed this out to the congregation, one of its members stood up and said "maybe we don't need to remember, the words were just meant for that point in time and they touched that moment".

Words might not always get remembered, but they can touch deeper parts of our souls. Sometimes we just need to hear words once, sometimes we need them repeated.

Obviously, sometimes we need to remember words, e.g. for exams. But it's nice to know that we don't have to always.