Some things that you want to avoid but are so much fun that they are hard to resist. Well, here are 10 things that you thought you won't do again before an exam and ended up doing exactly that. Things that make college fun.
 
You love them or hate them; it doesn't matter; exams are the reality of every students' life. Spending weeks on preparations, exchanging notes, and sometimes mugging up stuff. The times get easier when you have company, but they can also become a hurdle in your preparations as there is a constant exploration to kill time. There are people in every group who have made it a habit of preparing early and sticking their nose when others do. Some just keep chugging on coffee to stay awake, and others are binge-watching some series in one corner of the library.
 
These are the thrills of exam time in college life that everyone remembers when they are out of it. It is important to study for the exams, but it is also not good to make your whole life about them. College life isn't complete before some adventure and stupidity before the exam and vowing to never do it again before you do it again. Here are the 10 things that I always wanted to avoid and pledged to avoid before my exams but always ended up doing them.
 
1. The Last Day Ninja!
If you have ever done that, you would have laughed at yourself after the exam. Done it several times myself and never felt that I was alone. I used to prepare all my notes in order of importance according to the intelligent lot. Then I used to go through them and remembered the class in which they were taught. Yes, I know it all, that's the confidence, and yes, I can do it on the last. This is how you make a fool of yourself in the exam—staring at others' faces while laughing at yourself.
 
2. Just Last Game!
It is good to have little fun before you sit down for a long study session. I always used to do the same with my roommate, playing a game that we both liked before the study. It was a great exercise to relax the mind. Yeah, but sometimes things get weird when there is no clear winner, and the game stretches on till the dawn. Now, the question that used to come to both of our minds is, should we sleep, study, or continue with the game because the night is already over. I bet you have done that too.
 
3. Caffeine Overload
Nobody can study the whole night before an exam without coffee, but sleep is also important for a fresh mind in the morning. Generally, our hall time used to be in the afternoon, so there was enough time to sleep before its time to leave. But the brain must play its tricks. As soon as you pick up the book, you start to feel sleepy. Coffee is there to help, right? But by morning, when you want to sleep, there is so much coffee in your system that sleep is nowhere to be found. Now you have to sit on the bed, cursing yourself for the coffee jar that you emptied the previous night.
 
4. Group Discussions
One of the best ways to clear doubts and getting concentrated doses of knowledge from your learned friends is group discussions. So far, so good, but what happens when the group is in no mood for discussion? That's the part where you will sit again in the group after the exam, blaming each other. Our group used to be like this; after five minutes of discussion, the conversation started to veer off the track, and we ended up discussing the whole universe but the subject. Yeah, it was a great exercise in making long, useless conversations that helped us later in the corporate jobs.
 
5. Study in Hyper-drive
This used to happen when I just had a great conversation with a family member. Inspired by their struggle in college and motivated by their achievements, I used to take a pledge to run the exam down with my brilliance. I used to run through notes after notes, books after books, and lecture videos for the whole year. A great job is done, right? The shock used to come when the exam started, and you realized that 80% of what you have studied is not even part of the exam. Still, it's never a waste to read as much as you can; it's only a waste of your time for that instance.
 
6. Exam Cheat Sheet
I am not talking about cheating in the exam unless you are failing without a doubt. The exam cheat sheet is about your expertise to figure out from hints dropped by the professor in the last few lectures. The topics and questions provided in your assignment help you at these times of trouble by suggesting their importance. The job is half done, isn't it? You mugged up all those sections and solved practice questions. Nothing can go wrong now unless the professor is more experienced and smarter than you. The next day, you find that first question on the top that made you think that you have the cheat sheet. But the rest, it seems like everything is out of syllabus. 
 
7. Course Completion Party
This might not have happened with everybody, but this used to happen a lot in our college. All used to study so that we can enjoy ourselves on the eve of the exam. Though past results were not so encouraging, what's the harm in a little fun? The course was done and dusted in the afternoon before the D-Day, and we used to head out to the joint near the college. The joy of completing everything with one day in hand was exciting. The excitement used to turn things into a celebration from fun. One thing leads to another, and the next day, our head used to tell us that it wasn't a good idea. Even after the brain was completely flushed, there was still enough left in it to save for grace. 
 
8. Phone Call That Never Ends
Everybody gets nervous before an exam. Some, little more than the others. This means that you need to talk to someone who can comfort you and inspire you to do well. The phone conversation started with comforting words of encouragement and support. You started to feel a little chill and at ease. The conversation starts to get to the philosophy of the exam. This philosophy leads to the necessity of a job and the meaning of life. Now, you have entered the world of spirituality and the meaning of being mortal. Interesting conversation, right? Suddenly, you realized that it's the sun coming up from the clouds of darkness, giving light and nourishment to everything, living or dead. The only thing left without light is your brain, with no time left to study.
 
9. The Best Friend
Many of us have that one best friend whom we only miss during the exam. The poor creature has worked so hard the entire semester that a small word of knowledge shared by them will take you through the whole exam. You have hinged on their brilliance for the whole semester, and now is the moment of truth. They will share whatever they can from sheer goodness of heart, and you will think you are ready to conquer the world. But when there is a hole at the bottom of the pot, there is no point in filling it. When you haven't looked at the book for months, what will you learn from its cover? Only one thing, trust books more than a friend.
 
10. The Eating Spree
The stress can take a toll on your body and mind. Do you feel hungry in stress? I think everybody does. This means that the whole night will be dedicated to snacks, cold drinks, chocolates, and whatever junk you find in the fridge. There is nothing bad in overeating on one day, unless you plan to take a fit body and healthy mind to the exam hall. Overeating always results in bad responses from within to every question that you read. Well, either the questions are bad, or those ancient fries were. Either way, you are in a soup, and you will pray that you haven't done it.
 
These are some of the things that used to mess up my exams. Though in the end, these are the days to remember, and there is nothing to regret now. Life goes as it is but the days of the college past ain't gonna come back. This means that one should enjoy all the shades of colorful college life. I feel sorry for those who are about to miss a whole year of it because of this pandemic. This shall pass to, and we will be back doing stupider things than before. So, cheer for the times to come and the days that are left in college before you enter the struggles of the outside world.