Am truly thrilled to have applied for and got the opportunity to invigilate during the ongoing university exams. The very feeling of being amidst young people, especially in one of their most tense and anxious moments of student life, and being there as a friend, a helper and someone who can ease all that cramping, even if it is just a little... that's great.
Apart from the adventure this morning, it has been a thrilling experience of being exactly that helper. It has also been a great source of amusement. Watching them come in the hall or room, all tensed and some not even breathing and then leave the hall with a sense of achievement and relief; seeing them break into a smile when offered with a kind suggestion or a timely help or even a simple smile; observing the variety of ways in which they hold the pen while writing (quite a few write holding the pen straight and their wrist bent 90!); the fear of having forgotten their ID card or their exam candidate number or messing up the adhesive slip, right in the beginning of the exam, being alleviated by a simple gentle assurance "No worry, we'll help you with that!" and the relief that floods their face; the 'wonder' at a couple of youngsters who walked in the exam hall and coolly ask for a pen straight away, for they had forgotten to bring one! or at that youngster who called out for me today to ask, "What's the date?" Then there are the multiple ways in which they sit: some as stiff as an arrow, others literally with their head on the writing desk, some at a weird angle or twist of their body, some with their feet stretched to the maximum or folded or one flung over the other or under their bottom.
The amusement only adding to the thrill of putting them at ease and making them feel comfortable...!
Apart from the adventure this morning, it has been a thrilling experience of being exactly that helper. It has also been a great source of amusement. Watching them come in the hall or room, all tensed and some not even breathing and then leave the hall with a sense of achievement and relief; seeing them break into a smile when offered with a kind suggestion or a timely help or even a simple smile; observing the variety of ways in which they hold the pen while writing (quite a few write holding the pen straight and their wrist bent 90!); the fear of having forgotten their ID card or their exam candidate number or messing up the adhesive slip, right in the beginning of the exam, being alleviated by a simple gentle assurance "No worry, we'll help you with that!" and the relief that floods their face; the 'wonder' at a couple of youngsters who walked in the exam hall and coolly ask for a pen straight away, for they had forgotten to bring one! or at that youngster who called out for me today to ask, "What's the date?" Then there are the multiple ways in which they sit: some as stiff as an arrow, others literally with their head on the writing desk, some at a weird angle or twist of their body, some with their feet stretched to the maximum or folded or one flung over the other or under their bottom.
The amusement only adding to the thrill of putting them at ease and making them feel comfortable...!
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