One down, many to go

The last time I sat an exam in a formal education setting was during the HSC in 2006. I recall supervision being extremely tight, with only clear pencil cases and very specific items being allowed in with you. This was before smartphones, so I don't recall any policy for phones - I guess we all just assumed they had to stay in your bags and out of the room, like any normal person would.

My favourite memory about my HSC, however, came during our universally-despised year coordinator's opening prayer.

When I refer to this man as universally-despised, I'm employing only minimal hyperbole, as he was considered utterly useless and completely out-of-touch by students, parents, and I was lead to believe that even members of the teaching faculty were far from fond of him.

Being our year co-ordinator, he assumed the responsibility of welcoming us all, and leading us all in prayer prior to our first exam - English - of which the entire year group were sitting at once.

Upon completion of said prayer, our spineless leader commenced a minute's silence, to reflect. Seizing the moment, a childhood friend and fellow student - already in full slouch position - took the opportunity to let rip a fart of great magnitude. Not only was full-bodied with a lengthy finish, this audible obscenity reverberated around the great hall - bouncing off the walls and polished timber floors for an eternity. Truly the gift that kept on giving.

Now, anecdotes aside - what did I learn today? Well, I sat my first formal exam in over 12 years - Accounting & Finance for Business. It's not my last exam this week, and certainly a long way from the last of my degree, so arriving early and paying attention to instructions and procedure will prove to be valuable learning for the future.

As I mentioned, I arrived early. This was more by accident than anything - with an hour drive to the campus, the last thing I wanted was to be held up by any traffic, so I set off with plenty of time to spare. I'd also mentioned to a classmate that I'd be there a little earlier should she wish to go over any of the content, which was an offer she took me up on.

Fortunately, the benefits of my early arrival were not limited to catching the second period between the Arizona Coyotes and the Calgary Flames in the NHL - I also happened to catch the introduction and instructions from the exam supervision team. Lucky! I learned that I need to bring my student ID, and that I need to know the names of my course facilitators. Handy stuff. I also learned that it doesn't take 3 hours - plus 10 minutes reading time - to complete an exam.

Uni exams. How do they work? That's what I learned today.