Leaving Cert diary: ‘Was it the best idea to go to see the Harry Styles concert between exams? Possibly not’

I am a massive procrastinator. The weekend before the exams started, I was in the back garden while my Dad made two barbecues. No study was done.

I did have a few pangs of guilt, but that guilt was not constant.

Still, I didn’t feel prepared going into the English paper two, so, on the morning of that exam I got into school by 8.30am and studied for a solid six hours. It paid off! Everything I had studied came up on the paper, and I was particularly glad that the poet Paula Meehan appeared.

Last month, I dropped down from higher level maths to ordinary level, as I just didn’t feel prepared for it – and I am so glad with my decision.

On the day of higher level maths paper one, there was so much commentary about how hard it was. I am frequently on TikTok and everyone there was saying how hard it was, but I had a good time and finished my ordinary level paper in an hour and a half.

I know there’s a parallel discussion going on about whether the media should be covering the Leaving Cert and reviewing the papers. Personally, I think it is helpful when you come out of an exam and feel you have done terribly; it feels better to know that it is not just you, and that you are not the only one who thought it was difficult.

I couldn’t have gone to the Harry Styles concert in Slane if I had done a tough paper like higher-level maths. It was such an amazing concert, I love him so much and he is so charismatic.

Was it the best idea to go to a concert on the weekend between exams? Possibly not, but I got the tickets as a Christmas present, life is for living and you can’t turn down a life experience like this.

I had already done quite a lot of study so this breathed life back into me, and screaming at the top of your lungs for a few hours in the middle of a huge crowd reduced a lot of stress.

Irish was fine. I like Irish, although I didn’t understand one of the words – turns out it was the Irish for “discipline” – so I winged it.

Biology was nice too, I actually quite enjoyed the exam, which went a lot better than I expected it too.

Three exams left: French, business and music. There’s a big gap between business and music so I haven’t really touched music yet, but I will have a big chunk of time to focus on it.

Caithlin Balfe is a Leaving Cert student at Clogher Road Community College in Drimnagh, Dublin