t r i b u n e . o n l i n e - [the students' voice]

chocolate

Holidays by Michelle Chee

The holidays are here again. I wonder how people can actually look forward to the holidays. I'm not exactly a person who likes change from daily routines. And what is there to look forward to, if you know you're just in for more homework?

I thought holidays were supposed to be fun; a time for relaxation and enjoyment. But that has all been an unfulfilled dream. If you bother to calculate the average amount of homework per day during normal school days as compared to the holidays, maybe you'll find that you prefer to have lessons instead. Teachers can't give you much homework if they know you only have 5 hours a day to complete it (not like the 16 hours you get to spend now). And the worst part of it all is that everyone thinks we play and go wild during the holidays. What a misconception.

"You all [sic] have one whole week to study for your test, so I expect all of you to get above 80…" and "I hope you all will produce good projects because you have so much time to discuss during the holidays" are just a few of the many common classroom scenarios that unfold on the last Fridays before the school holidays. To make matters worse, we now have an extra "O-Level Encouragement Holiday". That means we have an extra 24 hours to rush through all the last-minute homework.

I guess most of us try to "manage our time well" by making a timetable for the holidays. But how many of us actually follow the timetable? It seems so ideal and perfect - yet we forget that in this world, nothing is perfect. And if you try to squeeze in some time for movies, or for going out with your friends, you might just be risking getting low marks some test or other. With CCA camps added to the schedule, you'll come to realise after a period of time that the holidays are not meant for you to enjoy yourself - or perhaps you could say that holidays are for you to enjoy studying instead.

I, not being a very organised person, "accidentally" let all my homework pile up till this week. Disastrous. I mean, how can you enjoy yourself when your guilty conscience keeps bugging you? "How can you do this? You haven't finished your homework yet… And what about studying for your tests? Your brain cells will die if you don't use them for a long time…"

I wish that there would be only two days of holidays. Just to do whatever you want. I count myself lucky to have been able to revive my badminton skills for 2 hours this week. But I played with a sense of guilt that I hadn't finished my homework yet. The old concept of finishing all homework before playing still has some hold on me, despite the fact that I seldom keep to it nowadays.

I know that whatever it is, I'll still have to live with another 8 days of holidays whether I like it or not. So I might as well make the best out of it, although I'll never be able to hide the fact that I hate holidays. Remember not to ask me how my holidays were.