From tomorrow the mid terms start. The mood in the hostels has changed. No more loud songs from any of the first years' rooms, though they can still be heard coming from the seniors' rooms(their mid terms are over). People who were into watching movies, playing games and doing bakar(aimless chatter) have taken to the solitude of their rooms. People say the best way to allay your fears is to face them, I think exams are an exception to this rule. These qualified people who have given exams throughout their lives behave like normal children in their fear for the papers. You can see it in their status messages in gtalk or on orkut, or the topic of discussions during lunch and dinner. No more loitering around the campus.
But there is something else that is visible. The level of cooperation that the students have shown. With the relative marking scheme put into place by the institute one would think that keeping information to oneself would be a dominant strategy for each player. But here I observe something 180 degrees opposite. There are mails giving lecture slides, some of the students have taken it upon themselves to show their passion towards the Right To Information. Seniors are also in a generous mood, sending previous years' question papers, and advice.
For me its just another paper. These things never seem to end. You motivate yourself by saying just this once, after that it will be alright, but then it comes at you once again. I guess there is no escaping. So I have stopped thinking about it. No more wasting of the precious time that I have here to the vicissitudes of student-dom. I am a free soul and will stay free come what may.