Remember those times, two weeks before school starts again, when your'e screaming your head off all day, every day, because school is starting again? And you realize that you have wasted your summer vacations doing nothing but staring at the TV screen( or in my case, staring at your feet, because they just look so darn amazing with that unchipped black nail polish on)? Now remember that time, two weeks before FREAKING O'LEVELS/ HIGH SCHOOL starts for the first time..and you..wait..no instead of screaming your head off, this time you write a suicide note for your loved ones and pick up that gun?
This is how I've been feeling for the past few days. 10th grade is about to start in, you know.. A WEEK, and I've basically been freaking out! Yeah..my mom doesn't know about this so..shhhh. Okay so basically i seriously need to get my act together. In about a year, i will be giving my CIE examinations, a.k.a, the exams which your whole future depends on. "KILL ME", was the first thing i thought when i realized that i'm about to start 'the most important two years of my life' as stressed upon by..well everyone. This makes
me feel scared, nervous, unprepared and just..UGH. Yeah..I've been feeling really 'ugh' these days.
I realized that I am in serious need of a 'Maham Insha Action Plan' also known as MIAP.( yes..lame, i know). And I also realized that if I'm so scared for this, there must be millions of kids out there just as scared as me. And i feel bad for them, really, since i know what they are going through.
That's when i decided that nobody should go through o'levels/high school academic hell, and that I am going to share bits and pieces of MIAP with you guys. I hope i can help you guys as i help my self. Lord, help us survive this. PLEASE.
So. this is what I've come up with. My first MIAP step.
I've come to the realization that no one really ENJOYS studying. Yeah, that's just crazy talk. BUT, it is possible to enjoy parts and elements of a subject, or if not enjoy, but at least realize its important for the future. What i have done is that i have stated for every single subject i have to study this year:
- things i find interesting about the subject
- things about the subject that i think will help my creative side( writing etc.)
- things/skills that i think will help me out in everyday life and in possible careers
Everyones' interests in a subject vary. You will have to figure out yourself, what you find interesting about each and every subject. I've written my reasons to love the subjects on paper and i have stuck them to the back of my closet door so that i can read them whenever i open the closet, and be inspired to study.
Here are some of mine...(I'm sharing only a limited number of subjects with you so that you don't get bored by this post. In total, I'm taking 11 subjects. Yikes!)
English Language:
- Creative writing: Think of it as way of working on and polishing your skills as a writer, as a journalist. When handed back a checked assignment, see where you went wrong. Place a post it on that assignment and list all the things you did wrong eg: spellings, grammar etc. so that you don't forget next time. Imagine if writing/ journalism/documenting were your chosen career/ college major. Better start working on your writing skills NOW. Make every assignment interesting.
- Comprehension and Summaries: These show how well you can comprehend and pick up information and important points from any type of topic given , of your interest, and not of your interest. Summarizing information is an extremely useful skill.
English Literature:
Literature also improves your writing skills. You learn all sorts of things from classic stories by famous writers. The way these writers think, the way they come up with such genius and intricate plots, the way they portray their characters, the way they add emotion, suspense, or any kind of mood or theme to their works. Analyzing essays help you find the writer in you, help you make realizations and answer YOUR questions, about this world, and this life. Poetry helps us understand this world, all kinds of emotions and the depth of us.
History:
Colleges will want to know how well you know your own country. Apart from that, history teaches you how much other people have sacrificed for us to have our freedom, our independence. Find out how this country( Pakistan) came into being, how a government works, how to rule a country and how not to make the same mistakes people have made before. History essays can be fun. You get to become a better writer in a diversed range of topics.
Math:
Math helps us in many, MANY ways. It helps us with financial problems, of which we will have to develop an understanding of at some point in our life. MATH IS ESSENTIAL. It helps you in areas like graphic design, architecture, building models, and in everyday life, like measuring objects and things, finding out the area of the floor to see how many tiles will be needed etc.
Environmental management:
Take this as an extra credit subject. Environmental management teaches you how this world works, what people are doing wrong, that is effecting this world. Also learn how to save this world from various environmental problems. Help save earth.
Economics:
Economics is an important business subject! It's a social science and it teaches you how to allocate scarce resources, for NEEDED good and services, and WANTED services. Economics teaches us about different kinds of economies, organizations and companies, and how they generate and work, which will come in handy for the possibility of starting your own business. It teaches you about money, and stock markets, and how to run your own company. It also teaches us how an country is taken care of, how it's resources are allocated, and how we can improve our economy for the well being of our country.
Hope this post helps you in your journey of kicking o'levels BUTT!!
xoxo Mana.
