Exam time is known for sending students a bit loopy, but there are some students (ahem, law students) who are renowned for being significantly nuttier when exam season rolls around. Law students tend to develop some strange habits and behaviours at exam time, and it’s kind of embarrassing owning up to them...
You use coffee as a reward. Wake up. Yep, I earned a coffee. Sit at desk. I deserve a coffee. I opened my textbook. Coffee time.
You start thinking of ways to get yourself out of the exam.
You have to meticulously organise your exam desk before you can start writing. I have to have my student ID and exam receipt in the top right corner. And I have to take my watch off and put it up there too (a habit that carried on from year 12 exams). I have to have one highlighter and one pen on my desk, and the rest go on the floor with my water bottle. Answer booklets go on the left, underneath the relevant books/notes for the question. All other books are organised in order of usefulness.
You start fantasising about how you could get away with *insert crime of choice here*. Because hey, it counts as study, right?
If you forget to bring tissues, your nose magically starts running and you become “that guy” that we all silently curse during the exam. If you forget to bring water, your throat magically goes dry and you find yourself silently trying to clear your throat, but only making it worse. Just cough once and get it over with!
You hide library books from other students. I’ve never done this but every time it’s mentioned on Survive Law, there are plenty of anecdotes from people who knew students who would do this. Some unis have ‘no university library books in exams’ policies but that doesn’t stop some people taking it out on their fellow students.
You start talking to inanimate objects. I never realised that I did this until I started working at a firm and found myself telling client files ‘you go over here, and you can go there. And what are you doing there?!’
You start questioning your choice of degree. Admit it. We’ve all been there.
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