Experiencing Wayville

This semester was the first time I’ve ever sat for my exams in Wayville.

Prior to my papers, I’ve heard many sighs of despair over physical exams – seems like online exams have been a big hit in the past few semesters. I was indifferent to it. To me, at the end of the day I would still have to face the horror that is law exams. Writing or typing my answers makes little to no difference. 

I won’t lie, the thought of sitting in a big hall with students lined up in seemingly never-ending rows of tables and chairs is scary. Oh, couple that with the fact that you’ll be sitting the exams with students from other faculties too!

I remember feeling super anxious on my first day (who isn’t?) but it didn’t really hit me that I will be sitting for my finals until I walked into the showgrounds and saw a large crowd of students in front of the Jubilee Pavilion – some whose faces I knew and a lot I didn’t. 

But doing exams in Wayville wasn’t all that bad. We had a pretty large desk space and it was pretty quiet except for the sounds of pages turning and the ventilation system overhead. Yeah, there were students who occasionally walked in and out to get to the toilet but trust me, once the clock struck 9, I hardly cared about anything else in the world except to get my points across within the three hours given. 

I actually prefered doing my exams in Wayville now that I’ve experienced what it was like. I feel like it helped me focus more on my papers when sitting there with every other student doing the same. When I was doing online exams, it was just me in my room so aside from the time pressure, it just felt like I was writing another assignment rather than sitting for an exam. Plus, I didn’t get distracted by the posters on my wall or my fridge in Wayville. It was just me and my notes against the world.

It also felt so much better walking out of the hall with my friends, the sunshine beating down on my skin and realising I'm done for the year! It was an overall interesting experience that went better than I thought it would. How did Wayville go for you?