8 hours ago
Leaving Cert student diary: ‘I've deleted TikTok and Instagram. Phones are a big annoyance for me'
The Leaving Cert dominates our lives like nothing else ever has – and hopefully never will again. It's such an intense set of exams. The Junior Cert was stressful for me too but, looking back, I don't really know why. The Leaving Cert is just on another level, and it's a shared pressure that everyone feels.
The past three months have felt very long and drawn out, but I'm now in the thick of it and the end is in sight.
The exams have been a mixed bag for me, so far. I was nervous going into English paper one, but very glad that I could tackle a short story. Paper two was tough, as the question on the poet Derek Mahon focused on the nuances of spoken vs written poetry, and it was unapproachable.
Maths paper one was difficult but I preferred it to maths paper two. As for paper one in Irish, I was happy enough, and glad there were no particularly strange accents in the listening comprehension.
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I'd love to study medicine, but I don't know if I will get enough in the HPAT (medical school admissions test).
I've already decided that, if I don't get medicine, I'm not looking to repeat the year or apply to European universities. This is because I'd be happy with my second choice, engineering.
I love art too, and I am doing it as a Leaving Cert subject, but it's not one of my college choices.
But all study and no rest is counterproductive, so I try to squeeze in a walk every day. I usually go with my dad. We live in Glassan, Co Westmeath, where there's plenty of lakes, forests and nature, so it's a great way to clear the head. On our walks, I am future focused: what I want to do after school, how I will spend the summer, the big hikes I will have and the day trips I have planned. I'm also off to Lisbon for a city break with my sister
During the summer, I want to take up taekwondo again. I have a black belt, but had to step back from it in recent months to focus on the exams.
Another thing that I stepped back from is social media. I had TikTok, but deleted the app, and then I looked at it on the website rather than the app, so I deleted my entire account. Same with Instagram, where that quick, fast video feed draws you in.
In general, I'm trying to be more conscious of my phone use, and put time limits on it, because phones are a big annoyance for me. I see people who are younger than me just glued to their phones. When I'm on the phone for too long, I feel anxious, so how can people who are 11 or 12 manage with such an addictive device?
