EXAMS: A FLASH IN THE PAN
August 19 Saturday 2006

Whilst the subject matter of this entry deserves a much longer post, I don’t have the time to do it justice right now. The reason is that I have a “supplementary” exam coming up, and whilst I’m understandably a little upset that I didn’t pass it first time ‘round, I’m grateful that I have a second chance (as opposed to having to redo the entire course again).

Having gone through the rigours of the PCLL course all year, I appreciate how relatively easy my initial law degree was. This is all said with hindsight of course; in much the same way I appreciate how easy my GCSE’s were after having done my A-Levels. In fact it has recently dawned on me that I didn’t have to be at all "good at law" to pass my law degree. All I had to do was put my head down and study hard. The PCLL, however, at least in my opinion, is much more “specialised” and therefore requires something else.

Now I’m not debating whether the PCLL is hard or not, because quite frankly some people find it a breeze whilst others, like myself, do not. What I am putting forward is that unlike most degree-level courses, the PCLL is suited towards certain dispositions and not others, because it is, by nature, a more “specialised qualification”.

So whilst I’m careful not to attach labels to people or make unqualified judgments as to who will find the PCLL easy, I will say this: that my disposition, character, whatever you want to call it, is perhaps not the most compatible with the course, and that’s probably why I’ve found it a little more difficult compared to others.

At this point it’s quite easy for me to feel bad about myself (and believe me, there have been nights where I’ve felt pretty lousy). And yet it’s strangely reassuring that I’ve felt like this before, in particular, during my A-Levels. The jump from GCSE's to A-Levels is huge, and it wasn't long before I was struggling through my mathematics course in a similar vain. But instead of beating myself up about it, I simply did my best and moved on, and I guess that’s the attitude I should be carrying right now.

So like I said before, I have one more chance to re-sit this exam, and boy am I going to take it. And no matter what the outcome, I rest in the knowledge that God has great plans for my life, and that I'm blessed to have so many options regardless of what happens.