last week was hectic. the national biology contest took place in brasov, with its ups and downs like always. however, this year’s edition seemed somehow better organised, due to its lack of organisation :)ok, just let me explain…
we were supposed to be hosted by some technical schools, the kind with some sort of a campus. the problem they did not think about, at all, was that there were pupils here, from the moldavian republic, who couldn’t get home during holiday due to their political issues. and so we arrived at a kinder garden. but all the bad is for the better, right? because now, unlike any other year, we had clean baths and fresh meals. needless to say, there were many those who complained. “the beds are too small, and we get to sleep on the floor eventually”, “the chairs are so little, that we cannot possibly sit” – to my way of thinking, one who had gotten before all the way to the nationals, could be nothing but grateful – we slept on the floor, yet we had no cockroaches on our pillows and the useful source of penicillin – the mold – was completely absent. this part of my post is for those who’ve complained – we know we cannot get luxury; be glad for the lack of dirt!
back to my topic, i feel i should reinforce my previous post, with a serious vow never to bore you again with biology 🙂 – there’s nothing feeling better than a job well done. the range of emotions was wide, incredibly wide. i’ve passed through determined focus (needed for re-reading the 8 alternative text-books…8…and alternative has its exact meaning, because they are all offering different opinions on certain topics), impossibility to sleep, a huge, enormous and monumental hole in my stomach, all the way to impatience, calm, fear, waiting and finally joy.
i know, it’s much, it’s extremely much – and that is what happens to you once you really get to love a certain thing. it wasn’t just an ordinary contest. and that quote all grown-ups tell you? “it doesn’t matter whether you win or not, entering the contest is enough”? it never really is, is it? no…you cannot really stand working and studying and then someone stealing your prise. it’s not about that funny little amount of money they give, not even about the diplomas – it’s all about you. because here comes the greatest part of them all – excitement. the moment you realise you’ve come all the way up, gone as far as you can and that it wasn’t for nothing. you gain trust in yourself, you are fulfilled with your own, personal merit, and nothing could possibly beat that.
just tell me…can you find something greater for yourself than gathering together the pay-offs of your hard, continuous, passionate working?
simplicate 
Ghimpele said,
April 23, 2009 at 3:38 pm
So…. c’mon, tell us: did you make it to the next level?
simplicate said,
April 23, 2009 at 4:34 pm
why yes, in order to brag a little :d just like i said…entering the competition only couldn’t possibly be all that satisfying by itself
alina said,
April 23, 2009 at 8:29 pm
hey!(I’m going to write in english thinking of it as an exercise) I’ve ben there with you and, although we stayed in different rooms(i mean classes),the conditions were the same.indeed, it was clean,the food was .. almost edible , you could take showers at any time you wanted BUT what annoyed me somehow was that we were 16 in the same room. yes, it is supposed that you have to learn everything very well by the time you get there,but you still feel the need to read again all that information.and with another 15 persons around you it’s impossible to concentrate.from this point of view it seems quite unpleasant.fortunately, I found a quiet place for studying in .. a kitchen:)
simplicate said,
April 23, 2009 at 8:37 pm
yeah, we sort of had that problem already solved out for us – though we were many too (14 if i’m not mistaken) we were from three different counties, and there was let’s say, the fight for surviving:)) i mean that any question you had, you didn’t ask it out loud, for the competion to hear it, you only whispered to those you trusted :)):)) still it was a very enjoyable environment, everybody with tons of books around them, learning, pulling their hair out…funny actually
alina said,
April 23, 2009 at 8:57 pm
as for the part about personal achievement ,I agree with you and I patially disagree with the person you quoted: it is well that we took part in the competition but not enough.to prepare and to feel it was for nothing brings only emptyness and ,for some of us, discouragement. the problem is the way they evaluate our knowledge:at some points they actually evaluate our capacity of storing information,both useful and unuseful, in our minds.you told me that it was worse in the past … but,you know, it can always be better.and the materials we are supposed to use while preparing for the competition should deffinetely be changed here and there,although it is difficult to make them accessible for everyone.
as an ending .. I hope you’ll experience excitement also after the next final exam;) good luck to everybody!