Teenage Kicks

Vulgarity, aggression, drunken excess, exposed flesh and bad fake tan. But enough about the Galway Races – what about those of us doing the Leaving Cert?
For my part, and for a percentage of my peers, the tedious study and trauma of results was to be re-enacted this year, to my parents' chagrin.
But points were gained and elders appeased. This was my second time running the Leaving Certificate gauntlet.
It was neither easier, more fun, nor was it any less daunting, this time round. I still had to put in hours of study (I say study, I mean doodling and eating biscuits).
Last Wednesday, however, all of the blood, sweat and tears of both years culminated in that moment, that time when I clutched the brown results envelope in my sweaty paws and wished fervently that it was a ticket to Aruba instead.
It is said that the Leaving Cert is the most stressful thing you’ll ever take on. Middle-aged people who are well clear of their Leaving Cert experiences and are firmly planted in their careers confess to still having nightmares about being back at school doing their exams all over again.
Having such a barrage of exams in such a short space of time leaves a lasting impression on us, as well as providing unnecessary anxiety and stress.
For such reasons, the ‘shocking’ happenings of results night are no surprise really, given that one would expect students to seek a release after such a pressure cooker of emotions in the lead up to this day.
Young, immature, and totally ill-equipped to deal with drink and miniskirts, we may very well be.
But, you, the grown-ups would have us sit and write essays on dead white males for six hours a day, before expounding on Peig or Pythagoras.
And results day isn’t even the end of it. While August 17th signified the end of schooling and the start of real life for many students, the majority still have the CAO college offers to look forward to.
We are plagued by questions – “Will I get the course I want? Will I end up somewhere where I don’t know anyone? Will the points go up or down?”
Awaiting the CAO offers is arguably just as stressful as waiting with baited breath for that sheet of paper.
Every year we hear stories, from various sources, about the scandalous goings-on of results-night revelers.
Fair enough – the problem of binge drinking has to be addressed. But we also must remember that first years in college are just Leaving Certs a year older. You don’t see the same volume of parental hysteria every weekend outside the college bar… Won’t somebody please think of the students?