It's that study time of year! In the next few weeks, many students in high school and college will take final exams (argh). As both a high school and then a college student, I would frequently pull all-nighters (an energy drink and snickers bar in hand) cramming for an exam the following day - that was until the Calculus exam. I spent the night before my Calculus exam studying at the library (yep it was open 24 hours) in an attempt to cram in absolutely everything. With no sleep going into the exam the next morning, I completely forgot how to derivate and integrate - it was a sleepy calculus disaster (I still have nightmares about it).

My grandfather, a professor of civil engineering at McGill University, always told me that on the night before an exam, ONE hour of sleep is equal to ONE hour of study! He is so right! No sleep has serious effects on our brain's ability to function. After an all-nighter, I am grumpy, groggy, irritable, and forgetful. Also, concentration becomes more difficult, and I have a short attention span.

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BabyPowdr shares a personal story of grief.

Dark toasted bread slices in the morning smell exactly like those quiet afternoons between '89 and, well . . . now I can't remember. It feels so very long ago, but in itself was a very long time. Without fail, the dark toast smell or rasp of a knife spreading butter on any kind of toast reminds me of that simpler time.

As I stand in my bleak miniature replica of a kitchen, waiting for the toast to pop up for the third time I think back on these days. Sun dresses, the peals of laughter, the smell of crayons and the thin paper of colouring books, the way Barbie hair smells fresh from the box. The gentle beams of light that crossed the room and the way my mother's voice carried in from the kitchen.

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