Ahh… the last days of exams and the result looming over. This heavy feeling, it’s too much for any student. But you know, most of us adults can feel it with you, because we went through the same thing years back.

I remember having a few last exams left, and the winter holidays were like a soothing cloud I so much wanted to jump over and enjoy. However, it felt like the exams would never finish. And just when I started thinking, okay, two more left and I’ll be floating on the winter holidays cloud, my mind reminded me, “Wait, you still have to cross one more hurdle — the results.”

Yeah, that whole extra stress waiting at the end. It wasn’t just about finishing the papers; it was about facing whatever comes after. One sheet of paper that will show all my efforts, all my panic and all those late nights.

But chill! Everyone is going through the same feeling. Do you notice your friends, classmates and school fellows walking around with this half-tired, half-relieved face? Some kids smile more, but still have a question mark hiding behind their smile. Others pretend everything to be fine, but you can tell from the way they check their notes again and again that they are still stuck in exam mode.

Teachers also seem tired these days. You can see it on their faces, too! They are done with explaining everything, done with repeating the same instructions, done with students panicking and done with reminding students to do this or that. It’s like everyone is ready for this chapter to end. But the ending always feels incomplete until the final marks come out. That’s the weird circle of academic life. You finish the paper, but the chapter doesn’t close until you see a number or a grade printed on a sheet.

One weird, yet funny, thing about the last week of exams is that you can’t even tell if time is moving fast or slow, can you? Sometimes it feels like exams lasts forever, and the next moment you realise, wait, how did we reach the final paper?

Your bedroom shows a scene of a warzone, as if you fought with your notes, books and copies, while the broken parts of your stationery items serve as your used arsenal. Even though you know most of the papers are done, you still have flashbacks or nightmares of some questions you answered strangely. That one MCQ still haunts you. That one calculation you redid three times, but remained unsatisfied with.

So it’s like you just exist in the mix: relieved, but anxious too. You’re joking with friends and then suddenly you open your notes to check an answer. One moment you’re daydreaming about freedom, the next you’re imagining the result report in your hand. So the last week is always stressful and chaotic. Somehow, that’s exactly how your mind feels, too.

Trust me, most of the kids you see relaxed are not really relaxed, but they are not completely stressed either. I guess that makes it a little easier, somehow, that you are all sailing in the same boat. Waiting to know if you have actually survived all of it.

And the moment the last paper finishes, some kids walk out like soldiers returning home. Others walk out still thinking about the questions. Some rush to their friends to discuss answers. Some forget about everything and just chill out. While some stay quiet as they fight their result anxiety inside and try to stay calm. So everyone deals with it differently, but the ending is the same for all: a slow exhale.

You start imagining possible marks, daydreaming a little, panicking a little, then calming down again. You keep reminding yourself that the break is close. Maybe this winter will feel nicer. Maybe the results won’t be as scary as your mind makes them. Maybe you’ll laugh at this later.

For now, this in-between feeling stays. Heavy but hopeful. Exams are almost closing, winter break is about to start, and that small window of uncertainty is holding all of us in one place.

But it’s okay. This will pass too, and soon you’ll be stepping into the holidays with a lighter heart, knowing you did your best. And sometimes, that really is enough.

Published in Dawn, Young World, December 13th, 2025