EXAM DIARY:ALLOW ME to introduce myself. My name is Laura Brady, and I am a Leaving Cert addict. This June, I will sit my third Leaving Cert exam. I already have 1,000 points. They're utterly useless to me now. I'm contemplating selling them on eBay. Any bids?
With 545 points last year, I was 10 points shy of my second choice of dentistry - but with a further year's effort, I have set my sights again on medicine.
So how do I feel about this year's Leaving Certificate? Well, how does a war veteran feel marching back to war? Like it's easy, having been done before? He is probably more anxious than his eager comrades as he doesn't have the luxury of being blissfully oblivious of what's to come. For a Leaving Cert veteran, I'm afraid it's the same story.
There are of course advantages to my veteran status. The Department of Education doesn't issue medals for bravery, but I do have a little more knowledge and a lot more maturity than my first time around. Practice, as they say, makes perfect, and for Laura the perpetual perfectionist, let's hope that the third time's the charm.
I sat my first Leaving Cert exam in 2005, at the tender age of 16, when I was attending Scoil Dara, in Kilcock, Co Kildare. My ambitions exceeded my input on that particular occasion and, to general outcry, I announced that I was off to boarding school and back to fifth year for a shot at ridiculously high points.
Wilson's Hospital School in Co Westmeath welcomed me with open arms and I settled in for two years of hard work and making some of the best friends of my life. I emerged last August with a decent Leaving Cert to my name, but no course offers that I would accept, and so, I trundled off for round three at the Institute of Education, Dublin.
Just to make things interesting, I've added a brand new subject to my repertoire this year - classical studies. I like it so much that it makes me wonder if there are any other dishes on the Leaving Cert menu that I should try.
Perhaps I should return again next year with a whole new suite of subjects and see how I get on. Or perhaps I should get on with my life.
This year has been tough. The institute demands a lot of its students and gives a lot in return. We were treated like adults and given accordingly high workloads, but it was just what the doctor ordered for people like me who want to do what needs to be done to get the top points.
One of the tougher aspects of this year was the fact that I moved out of the family home in Enfield to Donnybrook, which, being considerably closer to school, cut my commute by several hours. Of course, having attended boarding school for two years, I was no stranger to absences from home comforts but, for the first time, I was living entirely alone, with nobody to ensure I had breakfast in the mornings, or that I had something other than a crisp sandwich for dinner. Also, since the social life of a serious Leaving Cert student is almost non-existent, I got somewhat lonely.
My fishes, Oscar and Penelope, attempted to keep me company but, I must admit, their conversation was limited. I miss my home, my baroque princess bed, Romeo my iguana and, of course, my family.
My 14-year-old brother Jake has been away at boarding school, dealing with the almost unendurable stress of being a second year and, as such, cares little about me and my self-induced problems ("You chose to repeat!"), so there is little sympathy to be wrung in that quarter.
My parents, however, have been totally supportive so far, but I can sense that they are reaching the end of their collective tether with Laura and her repetitive repeating!
Approaching orals, practical exams, and now the final stretch to the exams in June, they have been treading on eggshells around me at home, for fear of setting off the walking stress bomb that is their Leaving Cert child.
On June 18th, when I am finally finished for good (hopefully!), I imagine there will be a universal sigh of relief chez Brady. The thought sustains me. . .
Laura Brady will be writingThe Irish Times Exam Diary during her Leaving Cert exams
