The Emotional Life Cycle Of Every Leaving Cert Student Ever

Clear blue skies, sunshine beaming down from the sky, birds singing and children playing - yes, it's Leaving Cert time of year again for the next bunch of unfortunate young souls. When your granny lights a candle for you, you KNOW shits about to get serious! An epic life-changing emotional cycle awaits you, so get ready!

Here are the 7 emotions you'll experience during your Leaving Certificate.

7. Fear.

The sheer and utter fear you experience as the Leaving Cert swiftly approaches is the worst experience of your adolescent life! Your teachers are there to constantly remind you that the LC is just on the horizon - they never stop telling you! 6th year is consumed by a full year of fear and worrying. Freak outs, mental breakdowns and serious self-questioning is rife at this time. And then it arrives... Dun-dun-DUN!

6. Excitement.

"It's here, it's finally here!" After all the months of hard work, memorising quotes from WB Yeats' "Easter, 1916" and indenting the English comparatives into your mind, the time has now come to spit this information out onto paper! This is it - the last time you'll EVER have to wear a uniform! The excitement to finish school and embark upon your "grown-up" life is immense. Just 7 subjects, 10 papers and it will all be over. Never again will you have to worry about that dreadful state examination, that is unless you, God forbid ... REPEAT! But for most of us that isn't an option. Phew!

5. Holy Sh*t!

You're at the midpoint of your Leaving Cert when everything stops. Your mind and brain stop ticking as your eyes glaze over and drool begins to seep from the bottom of your lip onto your desk. It's as if your brain has been fried! You jerk upright and clutch your hands to your face as you begin to freak out and lose your shit!

4. Relief.

You can't belief it's over. All that information you spent months studying and memorising, you can just throw it out the window! Gone forever, you'll never need it again unless the formula for Simpsons Rule pops up in a pub quiz 20 years down the line! A 2 tonne anvil has just been lifted off your shoulders ... metaphorically, of course!

3. Disbelief.

You have just penned the last full stop of your economics exam and gaze at your paper in disbelief. You struggle to grasp what emotions you should be feeling at this moment. The hardest task of your life to-date is done with. You don't really BELIEVE that you're finished until you get home, strip your uniform one last time and burn your books!

2. Pride.

There is definitely a certain amount of pride in completing your Leaving Certificate (depending on how much effort you put in). It's no easy feat - the panic, fear, desperation, tears, traumas and everything else whittle you away bit by bit until deadline day arrives, and when it's over you can't help but feel a sense of pride and accomplishment in yourself.

1. Euphoria.

No amount of sex, drugs or alcohol will ever even come close to making you feel the way you do at this point! Walking out of your last exam into the summer sky is one of the BEST feelings you'll ever have! You're coming to the end of your teenage years and are bursting with energy, excitement, and optimism for the future. The bad news is it doesn't last - so enjoy it while you can!