Who Needs Flashcards When You Have Existential Humor?

There’s something beautifully stupid about writing when you absolutely shouldn’t be. Like, the kind of rebellion that makes no sense but still feels like a small victory. Right now, I have a PE exam on Saturday. PE. As in, Physical Education. As in, the subject that’s supposed to be “easy” but somehow contains more charts, definitions, and health-related guilt than a fitness influencer’s Instagram story.

And yet, here I am, not revising somatotypes or the Rockport Fitness Test, but writing a blog post. Because my brain whispered, “Write a little, it’ll help you study,” and I — being the gullible little content goblin I am — believed it.

To be fair, my brain is rarely helpful during exam season. It has the attention span of a squirrel on French Press coffee or Chai (which, ironically, is what I run on). I’ll sit down with the full intention of studying about flexibility or cardiorespiratory endurance, and five minutes later, I’m staring into the abyss, wondering why we have knees. Like genuinely. Why knees?

But that’s the thing, isn’t it? Procrastination isn’t always about laziness. Sometimes, it’s just your soul gently tugging at your shirt, saying, “Hey... can we not be a robot for five minutes?”

So I write.

And every time I do, it feels like sneaking out of a mystery room I built myself. A room of highlighters, flashcards, YouTube lectures, and that one toppled water bottle that now has an entire guilt aura around it. But the moment I write something — anything-it’s like I break a tiny window open and let some air in.

Writing while studying is like emotional CPR.

It doesn’t even have to make sense. Today, for example, I spent 20 minutes drawing a cat in a box on the school desk because “sports psychology”  wasn't appealing. There was a doodle of an angry caricature in the form of a teapot? I think so. It was this weird Italian man with a moustache and a Che palle!" (What a pain!), "Lasciami in pace!" (Leave me alone!) Attitude on his face. 

Does this help me retain anything? No.

Will I still pass? Yes. Obviously. 

Did I enjoy making those drawings more than any actual studying I’ve done all day? Absolutely.

I think that’s the underrated charm of subjects like PE. People assume it’s all running and jumping and maybe the occasional inspirational quote about teamwork. But no. CBSE said, “Let’s turn this into a scientific textbook and make every teenager question whether they’re healthy enough to sit still.” PE is less about being fit and more about being mentally prepared to be judged by a measuring tape and a stopwatch.

And don’t even get me started on “Test, Measurement, and Evaluation.” I’m sorry, I signed up for physical education, not a thesis on normative data tables. Why are we calculating BMI like we’re on an episode of CSI: Gym Edition?

Anyway, all this to say — I should be studying. I know that.
But sometimes, you need to write a little nonsense to make room for the facts.
Sometimes your brain needs to clear the clutter before it invites in the syllabus.

So this is me, decluttering.

This is me saying: I will study now. I will look at all the components of fitness and memorize the difference between agility and coordination (even though they’re basically cousins at this point). I will flip through every page, underline everything twice, and convince myself that yes — push-ups are a part of my academic journey.

But not before I finish this blog post. Because this, right here, is my break.
My five minutes of freedom. My small, unnecessary rebellion.

And honestly? It feels kind of heroic.

To anyone else out there procrastinating a little — don’t worry. You’ll study. You’ll survive. You’ll walk into that exam with just enough panic and adrenaline to recall everything you forgot you knew. But for now, breathe. Write. Stretch your brain in ways the syllabus never asked you to.

Then go learn the Kraus-Weber test like your life depends on it. With maybe another cup of coffee or chai or some weird falguni snack that tastes absolutely like everything I'm supposed to avoid according to the textbook 🤷🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️

Okay. Bye. Much love and strength (to me so I can study).

As ever,

Ambika