Batman, The Joker and Exams

The Joker once told Batman that they are nothing without each other.

Now imagine that you are back in school again and every time there is an exam, you dread it, you wish that you did not have to take it. You tell yourself if you have just one wish, you will wish exams all away. Well, perhaps just like the Batman and Joker, you are nothing without the exam.

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If you really think about it, or if you google it, you will find that Batman's role as a vigilante quickly becomes irrelevant without his nemesis. His nemesis provides him with a purpose, with a drive to become better and it develops his character. These reasons that make batman the batman we all know today is because of the joker. Why build a utility belt if it is not going to be used to fight crime? Why go out at night to fight crime when he can just chill at home? It is all because of the Joker, his sole purpose in life.

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Exams are the same, instead of hating it, detesting it, calling it a burden, perhaps, we can look at how Batman's burden is like and perhaps learn from him.

Character building

It is not easy to train constantly everyday and preparing yourself to face your nemesis day after day. That is what Batman does and that is how he went about his daily life. Even his fortune was diverted to constructing and researching better ways to defeat the Joker. Now, imagine if you live and breathe exams. Your everyday is geared towards facing your nemesis.

The dreaded history paper.

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Maybe it can be maths? Or any other subject at all. After months of practicing, preparing, when you face the exams, you will likely be more prepared to face the exams. However, that is not the ultimate goal. See, the things you learn for the exams are going to be obsolete and irrelevant in 10 years. With the pace of how we are moving, maybe what we learn now can be obsolete in just five years. So what do you get from all your hard work preparing?

That would be building your character. See, all those time you spent trying to learn and understand a concept? You have started building your ability to focus. All those time you spent studying, socializing and doing the things you like? You are learning time management. All the time you spent trying to learn more using less time? You are learning problem solving. The things you have studied is only relevant for now. However, the time management skills, problem solving skills and ability to focus are for your career,your family and your future.

Looking at the big picture

Unless you are somehow academically gifted, you are bound to do badly in an exam or two. Much like how the Joker does win some battles and how Batman wins some as well. They both have been engaged in somewhat of a dance to see who dies first. Now, exams are not that morbid, but if you are like me, you may spend your entire life in school doing the dance with exams, winning some and losing some. This forces one to deal with it by:

i) Focusing on the current failure.

or

ii) Focus on how to succeed in the future.

This not only forces one to move on quickly but to also focus on how to solve problems. Focusing and wallowing on a failed paper is counterproductive. Imagine if Batman were to break down and cry after losing to the Joker just that one time and giving up.

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Anchors your expectations

I suppose both Batman and Joker know that they will be at it for a long long time. Who knows they may still be fighting each other late into their golden years. That would be funny to watch, but at least they are both aware that this is going to be a long game. Exams do have a way to anchor one's expectations. I have counseled many students over the years. I find the term 'pursue my passion' misused ever so frequently. Most of the time, if one were to really dig deep, students tend to pursue certain outlandish passion because they are not doing well in their exams. They will pick a job that does not require studying.

However, with colleges offering courses from cooking to online gaming, one will need a certificate for everything. To get that certificate, one would have to complete... You guessed it! Exams. So why not anchor one's expectation to the fact that exams are here to stay and while we are at it, let us learn something from it. Through learning, perhaps you will be better equip to change the world.

I hope you have enjoyed this post. Do let me know your thoughts in the comments below.

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