Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
Excuses, excuses and excuses, don't we just love using them? Especially when you are a student, excuses tend to be on the tip of our tongues whenever we set foot in our school.
I know that I have made excuses a lot in these past few weeks since the start of the academic year. However, now I am entering a new stage of my academic life where excuses have no place.
It hit me, as I am writing this, that in less than a year's time I will not be sitting at this laptop typing my weekly columns from the comfort of my free period at school or at my study desk at home.
No, I probably will be somewhere around the world studying double majors, trying to juggle getting university assignments done and studying my scribbled handwritten lecture notes.
Yes indeed, the time has passed where we can depend on the school teacher handing out notes and being able to rely on them to pass our exams.
I have noticed that whenever I am in need of help or confused about a topic of study, I immediately look for the teacher to answer my questions. However, I have noticed that, when studying the International Baccalaureate Programme, a teacher cannot always be present and one must depend on independent study.
My counsellor told me that the idea that a teacher must provide all the required information and materials is absurd because not everything can be explored and taught in class.
I have learned through the past year that technology has given us many new tools and materials for our daily lives. There are many search engines and educational sites that provide notes, videos, podcasts, review questions and many other case studies. Explore these materials to enhance your own studying skills.
Stop making excuses. Be independent. Be ready for the real world.
