Leaving Certificate Japanese

Leah - Ordinary Level

Ah yes. The sweet thoughts of my final exam. Actually, no. The Japanese Exam itself was not sweet, in my opinion. However, the thought of it finally being my last and final Leaving Cert exam was sweet like honey. I was very unlucky in the fact that I would have not one, but two exams on the 19th but I chose to grin and bear it.It was an extremely long day today for me which seemed to also be running out of time - especially when it came to my Japanese exam. I know for a fact that if I had chose to take the Higher Level Paper, I would be kicking myself in the shins right now. So I am glad I dropped down only a few weeks ago.The Japanese Paper consisted of a lot of Katakana, which was to be expected. The first two comprehensions weren't too difficult, I didn't think. Most of the answers you could almost guess. The Grammar section on Question 2 was also somewhat easy and the culture question was the usual level of ease.When it came to the remainder of the paper however, I was challenged. I gave the third Comprehension my best shot but I could not answer the last parts without putting Hiragana where Katakana was supposed to be - or vice versa.By the time it came to the Aural Exam, we had reached the home stretch. This part of the exam was easy, but I was tapping my foot, begging for it to be over. When it hit 5, I ran out the door fairly promptly. I was free!All in all, the Leaving Certificate is a pain for 2 long years but when you're finished, it's almost as if it didn't happen. I hope everyone gets the results that they're hoping for and remember: if it's important to you, you'll find a way. These head-wrecking exams do not and will not define you. Everything seems impossible until it's done and until then, we may as well enjoy process as much as we can.Please note: Blog posts reflect the opinion of the author and not necessarily the opinion of the Irish Second-Level Students’ Union.