For a teenager who has just started high school, the next three years of life may seem no better than hell.
But for the 7.23 million graduates who finished the national college entrance examination last week, high school was such a challenging but exciting time that they've already begun to miss it.
"It's tough to handle seas of exam papers and busy schedules for different subjects. But every hardship we've experienced this year has been worthwhile," said Wang Xiaoyi, a girl from Luoyang No 1 High School in Henan Province.
Wang actually felt a little depressed after she and her classmates assessed their total marks. "I could have done much better if I had worked harder. You always think you're busy every day, but that's not really true.
"Looking back to my first two years in high school, I wasted lots of time. I should have spent more time on my weak subject — maths," she said.
Society wants diversity in individual development. But a college diploma is still very important for a person to survive in today's competitive job market. Since universities and colleges admit students mainly on their NCEE scores, these exams are of vital importance to students and their families. Every year around the testing period, the whole nation gives great attention to the exams.
"I couldn't fall asleep two days before the examination, though I told myself not to worry too much," Wang said. "Even some top students in my class suffered from insomnia."
Wu Haibin, a graduate in Guangzhou No 76 High School, had no problem sleeping at night. But he woke up too early and didn't eat well before the exam. He insisted his parents keep making the same food as before to avoid putting any pressure on him. "But I still did not have a good appetite for two weeks," he said.
Wu has studied very hard over the past three years, so he was satisfied with his performance in the exam. "My scores won't be very high, but I tried my best," he said.
With so many classes and exams in Senior 3, it is difficult to find the energy to perform well. But games are easier to play if you set yourself goals.
"I took exams for fun because I saw them as hills or mountains to climb," said Liang Jiayi, a girl from the High School Affiliated to Renmin University.
"Every exam was like a mission because I used them to test out my weaknesses."
The optimistic girl explained: "My motto is 'everything is possible.' It's important that students have self-belief to encourage them to keep trying even if sometimes you fail. It really works!"
