A black cat crossed your path, that’s bad luck! Don’t open an umbrella indoors or the roof will collapse. Break a mirror and you’ll have seven years of bad luck.

Whether or not we believe in such superstitions, we’ve all heard of them.  Students, too, have superstitions, whether it is the lucky pen we use to write all our exams or the lucky charm we hang on our bags. Generally, these superstitions have little to no scientific backing, but can they be beneficial to us?

Psychologists think they are. Having a lucky pen or charm can help you approach exams with an optimistic and enthusiastic attitude. “Believing that they could work can actually help you [perform] better, by making you believe you have a greater control over the events,” said Dr. Stuart Vyse, an American psychologist, during a 2017 TedEd Lesson. Furthermore, you are less likely to panic and forget your material while giving an exam. 

With exams right around the corner and summer only a few weeks away, Hibiki asked several students about their superstitions:

Chrismica Maria Roy, Grade 12: “Before exams, I attend mass and call my relatives and ask their blessings. Their prayers help me, and the blessings are my moral support to perform well in the exam”

Yash Jhuriani, Grade 11: “I have a lucky charm which I got from a shrine. I believe that the lucky charm brings me good luck during exams because when I got it, I got a pretty good score on an exam, which was a day after I got the lucky charm. It’s usually with me during the exam.”

Amey Palkar, Grade 10: “Before every test/exam I pray to god that it goes well. It’s my belief that gives me the motivation to do my best and hope that everything will be great.”

Anonymous, Grade 10: “I have a locket which I’ve been wearing since I was one year old, [and] I consider that my lucky charm.” He added: “I recite a short mantra that my parents taught me and then I go to the exam.”

What is YOUR secret weapon?