March is the time of the year when 90 percent of the outgoing batch in schools put on their nostalgia hats and start posting Facebook and Instagram pictures and statuses about how many memories they are leaving behind.

The fairy-tale hope that somehow time will reset and they will be transported to their first day of school is blatant. We’ve all been there; the slowly spreading realisation that our time as school students is coming to an end and the cold cruel world lies just months away.

Of course, that’s just one way of looking at things. To most people, those pictures and status updates are a kind of a final goodbye, or good riddance in some cases; a few long months before freedom; a moment they’ve been longing for since the start of O’ levels.

The prospect of college (party) life is an exciting one and the prospect of university abroad is downright exhilarating. Who wouldn’t want to be in the company of the foreigners we all love to hate-but-pretend-to-imitate so much?

While the rhyme in the above line was comical, the chiming of the bell of doom is not. Our O’ and A’ levels’ exams lie a few months away and despite our pleas for time to come back, we are pushing it away. And, while the sweet dreams of exuberance frequent as the days go by, our reality gets more and more bitter. No more movies, TV shows or time out with friends as we must accept that the marking schemes of past papers are the only things that really care about us.

Most students spend half of their study time daydreaming about their memorable times in school. I still remember my first day. Standing in a long line of excited students in neat uniforms, with combed, flattened hair, carrying large school bags filled with every school book they have. I recall sitting in my new class with new faces around me, wondering how to make friends with them. I remember exploring the school during break time and animatedly sharing my findings with my new best friend during class. I remember chattering animatedly on the way home about how eventful my first day was. Unfortunately, that’s when I stop my flashbacks, for fear of drowning in a sea of memories that threaten to flood my mind.

School is always a sensitive topic. People get that stupid smile on their faces every time they talk about their primary and secondary education, and how they wish they had it back. Most people are unlucky enough not to be in school anymore. They experience the joy only through fragmented memories. For the Batch of 2014, the joy will last for another 2 months. Let’s make the most of it.