Then came my second attempt.

Then came my second attempt.

There were a few things I did well:

1. I didn’t give too much importance to test marks.

2. I tried to counter negativity with positive reinforcement.

3. I focused on keeping my mind happy and kept reminding myself that this would be my last prelims (and fortunately, it was).

4. I avoided cramming too much material in the last two weeks.Instead, I slowly read the most important portions and focused on solving previous years' questions

With a mind full of optimism about writing Mains this year, I entered the exam hall. I received the question paper and realized it was slightly more relaxed than the 2023 paper.

Then came the age-old problem — the invigilators. But this time, I politely asked them to stop talking, and thankfully, they did.😁

After one and a half hours into the exam, I looked at the OMR sheet and understood that the ship was sailing away again — only half an hour was left, and I still had 50 questions to solve and bubble in.

Though a slight wave of panic went through my mind, I regained my composure.

Then came another disaster at 11:10 a.m. — I bubbled one OMR answer incorrectly. Still, I gathered my strength and continued the exam with a calm mind.

Another mis-bubble happened at 11:25 a.m. Yet, I tried to stay composed and somehow completed the paper.

Then came the crucial gap between the papers, where I made another blunder.

I decided to Google five very factual questions I had marked. My intention was simple — if I found that at least two or three were correct, I could go into CSAT with peace of mind.

But I Googled them and found that all 5 were wrong.

That’s where the negativity and overthinking started. But thanks to my experience in the first attempt, I knew that this was a recipe for disaster. So, I somehow calmed my mind and went ahead for CSAT.

The single most important lesson you can take from my experience is that, many things may go wrong in the next few days or even on the D-day — but no matter what happens, you should remain calm and fight until the very end of the exam. As Paulo Coelho rightly said,

"If you really, really want something, the entire universe will conspire to help you achieve it."❤️