The Viral Exam Season

The Recap

The year started off busy and is ending again on a busy note. With University fulfillments and family functions to attend to, it had become increasingly difficult to take some time off to write regular blog posts. Add to it the fact that I am the sole person who manages this blog.

Whilst exams and tardy lessons took most of the time, skill building and household chores were also part of the mix. Nonetheless, getting four-five blog posts out each month like last year could not become the scenario this year despite my wish to be consistent.

But the worst part wasn't the exams or the chores. It was the rainy season this year that chose to be volatile and guarantee sickness to everybody in my community. I had just recovered from a bout of illness at the end of July, only to fall sick twice in the month of September…in the middle of semester-end exams.

I did not mind that either. But the fact that, no matter how badly I am sick and in need of the doctor’s attention, the rain always manages to dial things up. 

For the most part, the entirety of my time was devoted to honing my search-optimization skills through various courses on Udemy. The hours needed to fulfil those courses while learning other new things like Google Sheets ( and Excel ) were hectic and I could barely find time to fit blog post writings. Sitting for hours together in front of a screen, typing continuously while making sure your posture is straight is honestly a tiring task and I was literally passing out with exhaustion after every session. Nevertheless, my skills have improved and I almost know the keyboard like the back of my hand…except that I am still afraid of typing without looking at the keyboard. My speed and tenacity have improved, as well as the word count.

I no longer spend two hours trying to write 400 words and another four hours editing the document. And thankfully, It's a time-saving skill to adopt. 

I wished to write whenever I had free time but the exhaustion and overall lack of motivation prevented me from penning down even one article and here I am: four months late after my post in June. I'm afraid it's unforgivable.

In Sickness and in Tests.

With the semester reaching its end, the semester-end exams were finally on our tail. However, unlike last time, they were scheduled early and would end quite early too. I was quite confident the minimum gap between papers wouldn't affect me since the over-thinker inside would not allow me to slack off. But the unlikeliest of things kept happening over and over again due to the ferocious weather.

I got stomach-sick prior to the first paper. I was confused since I didn't exactly eat anything unhealthy when I realised it was probably because I was eating way too many ice-creams (which could possibly be untrue but I needed a reason desperately because it was out of nowhere).

Then as I got better, the flu started to hand-pick its victims and had my family in its clutch. Nearly everyone, except me, were coughing and feverish. Being the allergic member of the household, I had my shield up the entire time because this was the one time I did not want to fall victim to the cold again. But then life needs that spice to keep the picture entertaining, because not long after everybody got fine, the next victim was obviously me.

At first, the cold was very minimal and I had hoped that I’d get better soon. Nearing the end of my exams, while on my way to the exam centre, the sky was covered by dark and menacing clouds. The low rumble of thunder as we almost turned to the road to my college was the last warning before we felt raindrops the size of bullets hit us. In less than two minutes, I was nearly drenched and panicking because I was scared the cold might rebound.

It rebounded so well that I realised just how precious my ears and nose were when they were unblocked.

It felt like I was breathing and hearing at a resolution of 144p. 

My basic privileges were stripped because of a common cold. Genuinely, I never felt so utterly defeated at the thought of eating medicines again. A phase that I thought that I had outgrown since childhood.

The pills were bitter and almost made me wish to throw up. My hearing was so affected that I couldn't hear a word people said while chewing and my nose was blocked to the point I couldn't even breathe through it.  

Quite the disappointment indeed. 

The Conclusion

The cold has not ended yet since I still can't hear but at the same time, I feel better than I had in the past three weeks. The exams have concluded and the next semester is already at our throats with jam-packed sessions and loaded assignments. 

The year was a whirlwind and still is so I will try my best to keep this blog alive with all my strength. 

Thank you for reading!