I am a senior.

Haiku-a-day:

My 24^th

I walked away a

stressed-out junior and returned

a carefree senior.

I am done.  Repeat: I am free from the restraints of school and can now claim the title of senior!!!  I studied a lot yesterday and ALL day today leading up to my final exam.  I went over every single past test that they had posted for us, and looked over all the lecture notes, etc.  I was nervous, but it was amazing.  We had to choose 2 questions to answer out of 4 in one hour.  I could easily have done them all.  The flow chart from my last entry, what I studied today wipes that flow chart away.  I know so much more now than what I've got listed there.  I now have memorized the stages of making beer (all the way from drying and crushing the grain to bottling the final product), white wine, red wine, and country wine (and growing conditions) and every process associated with each, such as: in country wine-making, you would need to extract the flavor compounds; three ways of doing this would be: boiling, cold water extraction, and fermentation on the pulp.  The first is efficient but ineffectual as it kills volatile compounds and enzymes.  The second is not efficient, but it does not inactivate volatile compounds and enzymes.  Fermentation produces alcohol adding flavor, however, it releases too many tannins spoiling the flavor.  The best method is a compromise between the first two: warm water extraction.  I jotted all this down from memory!  =)  The final is 60% of my final grade, so I'm pretty sure I'll get very good marks in total. 

The conditions of the exam were very similar to the first one I took here.  I was in a different building and the room was even bigger.  It was in The Edge, which is our sports center.  The exam room itself was a basketball court with around 400 chairs set up.  We had assigned seats; I found my desk, #63, at the very back of the room.  It was so weird to see so many people lined up the way we were.  As before, it was quite intimidating, however, I was prepared for this, so no intimidation would get to me.  Six invigilators stalked the aisles and the room sat in dead silence.  When the exam was finished the the head invigilator called time, there was a monumental rush of excitement.  Or maybe that was just me.  Maybe there was just a monumental rush for the door?  =)  

I celebrated by going to a friend's grad party.  She had an exam at the same time as I did, but she took her last exam ever--ah to be a senior graduating abroad!

Here are pictures of the exam room.  If you're a Harry Potter fan, think 5th year O.W.L.s.

The first crowd at Sara's grad dessert party.  L-R: Sara, Vanessa, Leah, Roxanne, me.