If you are a student planning or currently studying in tiertiery education center, chances are that you've been through primary school and secondary school or even a high school. My guess is that education and school defines your entire life. Being in an education center, you are expected to study, go through exams and pass them with flying colours.
Coming from parents, from friends, from teacher and even your dog...These expectations, since when were we compelled to fulfill them? Since when was it a rule to say that we must live up to them? I do not recall anyone signing a contract saying that they have to score 80+ for their exams. I do not recall anyone promising to a legal entity saying that they have to sacrifice their sleep to finish their soon-to-due assignments.
Reflect back on your past grades. Do you remember skipping 38 meals and 44 nights of sleep to study for a major exam like SPM? Maybe that kind of figure was abit of an exaggeration, but I'm pretty sure you would have sacrificed at least a night's sleep for an exam. Was the sleep deprivation worth the grade?
Think about it. A deprived sleep could impair your brain cells. And from what I heard, brain cells do not regenerate. (Yes, that is something to be afraid of)
Let look at a bigger picture. Do you care much about your past kindergarden grades, or your UPSR grades? Do you even care about the more recent ones, PMR, SPM and STPM grades? Or a more recent ones like college and university grades. Does it really matter 30 years down the road that you got a distinction for a subject?
So as long as you got the certificate at the end, does it really matter if you score a few hundred 'A's? I'd say: Intentionally killing your brain cells to trade for grades is a very bad trade. Your brain cells serve will serve you until you are six feet under but your grades can only do you good for up to a maximum of 2 years.
Chasing after perfect grades is an admirable act, but not at the expense of health. While most students chase after grades, friends, and new experiences, they often neglect the thing that is most important to them: Health.
Sleeping late, skipping meal, smoking, drinking booze... those are the stuff that damage the body more than making a mockery of this article. In fact, mocking this article and the author is healthy as it stimulates your brain cell and encourages activity in the brain.
It is an unfortunate consequence of our civilization history that Health is rarely given rational consideration by students, trapped by their perception of Health being the least important factor in their life. I'd say its time to turn the tide around. If you are reading this article 12am early in the morning, perhaps its time to skip to the credit section, read the last bit and go to bed.
Credit:This article is written by a blogger commonly known as 3POINT8. 3POINT8 is a prodigy child who graduated in the field of engineering. 3POINT8 is a former recipient of TARC scholarhip, and the highly competitive Golden Jubilee Scholarship offered by the best engineering course institute in Australia, UNSW.
This is a contest entry for Malaysia-students.com
Again, I didn't win :(
Then again, I'm proud of what I wrote. Dang, I can feel that my writing is getting better and better. I thank all my commenter who never cease to motivate me. You guys are the best!
Anyway, to bloggers: Continue writing! It'll definitely improve your writing skill.
To non-blogger: Keep on reading! It'll definitely improve your reading skill.
TeeHeee~~~~
[Top Comment by ColourfulWorld]
Never sacrifice anything for UPSR, PMR and SPM. In fact, during the examination period, I play more CS to sharpen up my reflexes.
Sad enough, it's not that I don't want to sleep. 1 cawan teh tarik during supper time will occasionally give me sleepless night. The mind is sharp even till dawn. LOL.
I have twice the experience of not sleeping for 48 hours straight. What's the feeling? You feel like floating in the water. The mind is still there but it is not synchronized with the responses from your body parts. In the end, take a good 12 hour sleep for 2 days...
Here's a tip in case you plan to burn midnight oil. Keep drinking warm water whole night long, the more the better, to flush away the toxin generated as well as keeping your mind and body cool so that you can be more focused and the memory (in case you are facing an exam) will last longer.
