For an entire year, my syllabus and I had an unspoken agreement.
I would ignore it.
And it would stay quiet.
It worked beautifully.
Whenever exams felt far away, the syllabus felt small. Friendly, even.
Just a few chapters. Nothing serious.
Fast forward to one day before the exam.
Suddenly, the syllabus decided to stand right in front of me and make eye contact.
And wow.
It was bigger than I remembered.
Topics I had “planned to study later” were staring back at me.
Subtopics had subtopics.
Some chapters looked like they had chapters of their own.
I did what any reasonable student would do.
I calculated.
“If I study this much per hour… and don’t sleep… and maybe bend time a little…”
The math did not support my optimism.
I tried opening my book.
The book opened back… aggressively.
Nothing was familiar.
Even the introduction felt judgmental.
At that point, I realized something.
Ignoring the syllabus doesn’t make it smaller.
It just makes it wait.
Very patiently.
So I made peace with it.
I studied what I could.
Skipped what I couldn’t.
Promised myself lessons I knew I might forget again.
And when the exam day arrived, I walked in with fear, honesty, and just enough preparation to survive.
The syllabus won the stare-down.
But at least now…
I know its face.
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