Exam Diary / Oisín O'Reilly: Oh heavens! Is it possible a young man's wits should be as mortal as an old man's life?

I came in from the rain on Friday, dripping like Ophelia and muttering darkly. Having reached a point when I was studying every waking hour and then not sleeping properly at night, I think I got a little unhinged.

When I got up at four in the morning and watched an rerun of Prime Time and then went online for some webchat, I knew things had gotten out of control. Having said that, my friend Shane was online too so I'm not the only one losing my boundaries.

This week things are a little saner. I've reduced my study time to five hours a day and I'm doing normal things, like watching Prime Time when it actually is prime time.

My parents are throwing money at me to go out and enjoy myself so I'm going to see Star Wars III tonight. I liked the first two, including Jar Jar Binks. Have you got a problem with that?

Yesterday I had my last meeting of the Union of Secondary Students for a while. I'm vice president but they've been charitable enough to give me two weeks off for my exams.

I just opened a letter from the Department of Education warning me to state the model and make of my calculator on my maths exam and make sure I know where my exams are being held.

Am I the only one who got this? What are they trying to do to me? My grip on my marbles is loose enough without letters of that sort. As it happens, I don't know where my exams are being held. Better call someone.

Tonight I will dine on my favourite food - chicken fajitas and tikka masala. I like plenty of cultural diversity on my plate.

Mum's been a diamond the last few weeks. She has prepared separate meals for me according to my last-minute cravings and is happy to dish up whatever unreasonable concoction I request.

I will spend tomorrow trying desperately to get my quotes in order. I scramble Shakespeare and Dickinson, Eliot and Kingsolver.

I honestly wake in the night spouting lines from the Love Song of J Alfred Prufrock. On Sunday night I did descend the stair, a baldspot in the middle of my head. It turned out to be a Post-It note with a reminder to buy omega fish-oil capsules. How did that find its way into the bed?

Well, if you saw my room you'd understand. There are scraps of paper everywhere; coffee cups and teaspoons and sticky plates and memoranda and calculators, the makes and models of which I cannot recall.

I can't sit up watching Oireachtas Report and eating cold fajita the night before an exam. I need to act like regular people. I'll get Mum to lock me into my room. No it's not safe there, either. I'll stay up all night measuring out my life with coffee spoons and listening to Daft Punk. I hope it's all worth it, after all.

Oisín O'Reilly is a student at Ashbourne Community School, Meath