Houseplants are like people; they have different personalities and requirements. These personalities also match various study personas, from the last-minute submitter to the hyper planned perfectionist. Which do you identify with?
As students we may move between these types, some years feeling like an air plant, just getting the work done somehow, other years surprising ourselves with a hyacinth moment of glorious success when feeling overwhelmed.
We may socialise and study, or plan and perfect our submissions, but however we do it, we all grow year by year towards the final flowering when we complete our study.
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1 Air Plants
These are amazing, they don't need any soil and a quick spray of water keeps them going.
Some students seem to work like this, they don't appear at tutorials or on forums, they don't seem to have to make any effort, they just pass their assignments and end of year exams without problems.
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2 Orchids
These are the other end of the scale to air plants; high maintenance plants which require just the right sort of environment to flourish. The whole purpose of the plant is to produce long lasting flowers which seem almost unreal.
These are the students who are very organised, with colour coded notes, a specific place to study and background music for the right mood. Their assignments are always at the highest grades.
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3 Cacti
The cactus cheerfully tolerates neglect and as long as it is not overwatered, it grows without much attention. Their spiky appearance makes them interesting even when not flowering, but once a year they burst into colour with beautiful flowers.
These are the students who raise differing points of view in discussions and feel confident in their own opinions. They might focus their attention and their best efforts on the end of year assessment but continue to growth steadily year on year.
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4 Succulents
Often grouped together with cactus because of their drought resistance nature, they flower more readily and their plush leaves show a very different personality to the prickly cactus.
Students of this type join in the conversations on Facebook and forums, participate in all the tutorials and aim to make the most of the student experience, while still doing well with their assignments.
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5 Hyacinths
These are not a year round plant, they only appear in the shops in winter, when they fill the house with fragrance as well as colour. After they finish flowering, the leaves wilt and everything dies back down to the bulb, leaving the cycle to begin again next year
Hyacinths are like the students who start with a flourish, then falter as the year continues and the pressures build. Luckily, like bulbs many students continue and start each year with fresh enthusiasm, and always reach their goal in the end.
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