My Leaving Cert: Ryan Tubridy

My birthday cropped up a couple of days before the Leaving was due to start. I had a sombre anti-party as the shadow of the Leaving was cast over my celebrations. I spent the evening listening to Elvis and drinking beer with some friends. We were all trying to calm each other down as the reality of the situation began to sink in.

Elvis was a big help to me at that time. I listened to his music right through the harrowing weeks of the Leaving and he was my touchstone of sanity. My mum bought me the '68 Comeback Special and I bought myself an Elvis gospel collection. I would cross this river of tears and get to the other side. I comforted myself with the notion that even if I didn't survive the Leaving, the King would still be alive.

Other crutches I used to get through that difficult time included Fig Rolls, Bewley's fudge cake and coffee. My parents were great all though the exams.

They never put pressure on me to get a certain amount of points or take a particular course. They probably trod on eggshells around the house while I was studying but they didn't make it obvious. They just did helpful things like supply Elvis albums and fudge cake and make like Kofi Annan - all diplomatic language and indirect questions.

As a teenager at a stressful stage I was probably quite difficult to live with.

The Leaving is a tricky time for parents too, I reckon.

The day before English paper 1, I went to the canal with some friends and sat on poet Patrick Kavanagh's canal bench. We told our parents it was an exercise in inspiration. In fact it was an excuse to avoid the books but it actually was a useful exercise.

The place was imbued with atmosphere that day. We all loved his poems and came away from the canal calmed and inspired. Kavanagh came up on the paper the next day. To this day Advent is my favourite poem.

I never had a problem studying subjects that I liked such as English, history and Latin. What I really resented was being forced to sit exams in subjects I hated, such as Irish and maths. The Leaving Cert was a mediocre affair for me after I got my favourite subjects out of the way.

I hated having to dilute my strong subjects with a bunch of topics I had no interest in. It cast a shadow over my last year in school, which is a pity. I would prefer to have been offered a system like the English GCSEs, where you get to choose two or three subjects that you really like.

I was advised to go for a general arts degree in university and it was the best advice I ever got. I wasn't under huge pressure pointswise and I got what I needed.

College was a great experience for me as I studied subjects I loved and worried about getting journalistic skills under my belt later. I could have left school and headed straight for classes on shorthand and libel law but instead I enjoyed history and Greek and Roman civilisation and a good measure of college life.

My best tip for getting through the exams themselves is to bring a bag of Fox's Glacier Fruits into each exam - low rustle factor, quick sugar buzz. Take it easy on the mascots. There's life after the Leaving and you don't want to remembered as the guy who had his stuffed panda confiscated.

Don't despair - yesterday, your first day, was just the beginning of the end of the Leaving. An exciting new start is just around the corner.