Express News Service Wear your lucky socks, say your prayers, because whether you like it or not, it’s that time of the year again — Board Exams. These tests invoke a great deal of worry for parents, teachers and students alike. But from taking long walks to consuming curated content, these students might just have the solutions to make the exam season a little less stressful after all. Harshitha Srikanth, 17 I’m prepping for my class 12 finals. Having already gone through this process in class 10, I had a few takeaways. First and foremost, practice is key. But practice must go hand in hand with a calm and composed mind to ace your exams. My secret mantra was to take a short walk with my mother in the evening before my exam or spend some time talking to my friends and family. I would also stop revising the previous evening and focus on calming my mind. Having a healthy night of sleep with a nutritious breakfast before a tiring three-hour paper will give ample energy to tackle it with ease. I want to conclude by reminding you of a quote — ‘Diamonds are made under pressure’. KP Roshan, 17 M otivation is the key to success. In the past two years, I’ve never felt short of motivation. For this board exams, I have a materialistic motivation — a phone. I look forward to getting it as a reward after I ace my exams. That’s what’s keeping me determined even through the stress. At home, my parents have not imposed any restrictions on me but I have my own. TRAI came with some new schemes which helped me control my screen time. But I relax with YouTube videos about tech. I watch them every day. Aravind Sivakumar, 17 Even just days before the board exams, I was not stressed at all. Neither were my friends. We’re all quite confident that we’ve prepared well for it. Some of my friends were reading novels. That’s how confident we are. But it’s the next level of exams like NEET and JEE that have us worried. We are more concerned about that and want to prepare for them as much as we can. Lavanya GM, 17 It’s exam season again and anybody studying in classes 10 or 12 is in a frenzy to get their finals over with. Along with exams comes an unhealthy amount of stress and people must know how to reduce their stress levels and relax. I like to listen to music when I am stressed out. Some acoustic melodies are very relaxing and help me de-stress. Another thing that helps is exercise. When I’m stressed, I like to go on a run or do a small workout. I’m a dancer, so dancing is great when I need to relieve myself of stress. Other than this, I think it is important to take adequate breaks and set a timetable and stick to it. Getting enough sleep and eating healthy food is also integral to reduce stress. Roshan Karthikeyan, 17 I’ve just understood how vital class 12 has become, even though marks matter more than subject knowledge. In addition to the exam stress, I’ve been feeling like a fish out of water, joining a school in my hometown after being in a boarding school till class 10. The most annoying part of it is that I have to go to school even on a Sunday. Most days, I feel like a cooker ready to explode. To hit reset on this, I play basketball for a few hours on Sunday. It’s my absolute favourite sport in the world, and I’m quite good at it as well. Occasionally, I go for a movie with friends and the rest of my free time, I play video games like PubG, Uncharted, Red Dead Redemption, and NBA 2k19. S Salai Kiranamali, 15 I’m currently appearing for my class 10 board exams and I’m quite eager to write them. I try maintaining a positive attitude, plan my lessons, practice a few breathing exercises, follow a healthy diet and get eight hours of sleep. To relax, I mostly listen to music. I believe that it is the efforts and not the results that can give me an enduring sense of fulfilment. So that’s exactly what I am focusing on. Arjun Gopalakrishnan, 16 E ach of us has different ways to break free from the inevitable exam stress. I’ve played basketball since kindergarten, so I often play with my friends when I need to let off some steam. I’m also passionate about photography, so I like to spend some time with my DSLR as well. It was a hobby at first but now it’s more than that. Instagram has been an amazing podium for me to showcase my photos. I figure that engaging myself in activities that keep me engrossed and make me happy is the best way to relieve academic stress. Spending time outdoors also works for me any day, rather than sitting in front of a PlayStation all day long. Jaidev Bhalaje, 17 T hese exams are the deciding factor of my future. I won’t get the group I want if I don’t perform well’. I have heard these statements umpteen times over the past few months, and of course, it is true. Even though I want to believe that marks don’t matter, it does play a significant role in the end. This one component has been a great deal of stress for me because of the pressure that I have imposed on myself. I know that this pressure is not healthy. It has had many adverse effects on me and has also reflected on my answer sheets. So, to handle stress, I watch my favourite documentaries and to keep my mind active, I listen to inspirational music. When I study a tough subject and get tired, studying something simple helps me cope with the stress. Deborah Melvina, 14 T his is my first board exams and although I’m prepared, I have many doubts. I try and reach out to my teachers about it occasionally. But undoubtedly, I’m under a lot of stress. I try to take a break and pray; I don’t watch TV but I set aside some time to play. My parents also try to get me to relax from time-to-time. My friends are also stressed and they have their own way of dealing with it. But some other classmates also think that exams are boring and casually brush it off. Ram Raja, 17 I take adequate rest to reduce stress and break the monotony of tuitions and studying. I enjoy a quick break with TV and YouTube content to de-stress. Automobile channels like Autocar India, Vehicle virgins, Powerdrift, and tech influencers like Marques Brownlee (MKBHD) are my favourite people to watch. Sufficient sleep and good food are also some of the best remedies. Alfred Gideon, 15 W riting the board exams, especially with the new syllabus, has caused stress. There is no blueprint to follow. But I’m studying a lot to overcome the stress. We do group studies and use the question papers from the past exams to prepare for what’s coming. This has helped boost my confidence levels, but I’m going to have to wait and watch.

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