Not applying myself

LC2010HIS

Hey
So, Im repeating the LC. And I just threw the towel in earlier at cramming.
In fact, despite my intentions in september, ive been throwing in the towel alot.
My mother snapped today. Making a list of all the things I cant do. Pretty much included every aspect of a human.
It has gotten me down. Its not like I cant do any of them. I just dont apply myself. And Im not applying myself to my exams either. In fact, I think it might be depression because once upon a time I was a very motivated girl. Now I just dont bother, despite every opportunity i have.
Need advice

LegacyUser

if you are looking for a life changing experience - it's not coming - that's life!

i think you will be happier after getting some work done - start small.
don't look at it as one huge obstacle - take one day at a time.
life is what happens when you're busy making other plans.

i thought the LC was the worst thing in the world but it isn't. every new stage of life brings new challenges, if you can't start facing up to them it will get you down. happiness is the little moment you can enjoy because you've done something worthwhile. so do it!

What did your mother say to you exactly? Is there any background to her snapping like that?

I was extremely bad in my Leaving Cert. I barely studied. Thing is that you actually learn a lot more than you think, this is what I find anyways. I've always had this belief that if nothing is going in while I'm studying, I just go for a walk or take a break and then try again. There's nothing worse than staring at the same page for ages.

And remember OP, the LC isn't the end of the world. Far from it. I did crap in my one and I've since gone on to do a PLC in Film and TV and I have a 2.1 degree too in business computing.

Sophsxxx

Forget about your mother, she's not the one sitting exams. My mam was so disappointed when I had to repeat nd mortified so it led to a lot of arguments between us. She freaked out I wasnt doing enough when I was doing everything I could. In one ear and out the other is the best advice in that regard im afraid!
I was the same when I started repeating my leaving cert but tbh, I learnt that there was no point on moaning about it, just get on with what ya have to do! I know its hard but with a regular routine, you'll do so well!
Good luck!

Scarinae

What were you like at studying for exams when you were younger - not just the junior cert, but also routine school exams? If you were always fine at studying for those, but you couldn't face studying for your leaving cert, you may just be overwhelmed by the whole idea of the thing (especially since you're repeating, it is a lot of pressure) Like another poster has already said, you need to break it down into more manageable chunks so you're not intimidated. You can't expect to learn the entire curriculum in a few days - take it slowly, you have months until the actual exam, pace yourself and reward yourself each time you achieve something.

Other people find that they never really had to study for their earlier exams, but the leaving cert is too difficult to coast through. If you are one of those people, it is possible that you never really learned HOW to study. Lots of places do study skills workshops and seminars, you might even be able to get help from a friend who is very meticulous about their study who could give you some pointers. There is no point sitting in your room for six hours straight staring at a page and not taking anything in - find what works for you. I find that writing things out in point form helps me to remember the important points; other friends found that drawing pictures, or even recording things and playing them back worked for them.

As for your mother - has this blown up now because of Christmas exams? I know it is really unhelpful for her to snap at you, especially if she is twisting the knife by listing other ways that she thinks you are useless, but people tend to say horrible things when they are arguing. She is probably just frustrated and doesn't know how to help, so it is coming out as nagging and shouting. Make your best attempt at the exams for now if you have them, but talk to her calmly afterwards and explain that you're feeling stressed out by the whole thing and you want to sort it out. You have months before the leaving cert, so it's best to try sorting things now rather than waiting until May when things will be much more intense. Your school may be able to help out, they must be used to stressed students, and if you really think it might be depression then you could consider visiting your doctor to talk about it. Best of luck