The Game

 

Monday saw the annual event in any schools calendar. The study skills workshop. If you have experience of this then I shall say no more. Personally I’ve sat through two of these previous trying to digest all the diagrams and philosophies that they threw at me. I have always sat there with eager eyes and ears, trying my damndest to concentrate for those hours thinking I would be a new girl walking out. So before Monday’s rigmarole, I amused I’d seen it all. Make friends with flashcards and forget a life outside of school blah blah blah. But, much to my amazement, Monday was different.

 

The workshop was by “Super Generation” and Kevin was our speaker for the day. And refreshingly, he told us straight out: The Leaving Cert is a game. Either play by its rules or get out. Damnnnn preach it sister! In his two and a half hours of speaking I can safely say I learned more about the flawed system we have in place in this country than ever before. I could indeed whine and moan “why me?” while placing a bad attitude on myself for many months but like Kevin said… Nobody cares.

 

Nobody cares that we are doing the Leaving Cert, while more to the point it doesn’t affect them as we assume. Take my mom and dad, yes they love me, yes they want to see me reach for the stars and yes they agree with every rant about the education system. But does it affect them in their everyday lives? Every morning, whether I do well in a Maths test, they will still get up, go to work, talk to people, eat dinner and watch the nine o'clock news. My current situation, even with their sympathy, is totally my situation and mine alone.

 

I may choose to fudge up my Irish question on “Tír na nÓg” and not study my arithmetic sequences but it is my choice. I learned that I have the choice to be selfish. To not go to an annoying aunt’s house because, well, it’s my LC and study time needs to be obeyed but unfortunately on the flip side, is that I may have to forego some occasions. For example the Ploughing Match, which was hard at the time but the choice was mine, and I made it for the good of my Music Backing Chord question.

 

As a final word, this years school event was pretty enjoyable with even a few new tricks learned that actually work!!!!! SING HALLELUJAH. Also that selfish is the new black. Red ain’t got nothin’ on me.

 

Until next week ;) Xx