Brian C., Hadley E. Watts Middle School
Just A Test
I was sitting on the couch staring blankly at the TV, thinking about how my summer would go and what I would do on Monday... when I suddenly realized I had the math final I’d somehow forgotten about. I rushed to my desk to study for the math final, which was worth 100 points. I focused on everything I didn’t understand, but there just wasn’t enough time. I was struggling in several areas, and the test was only two days away. I stayed up late into the night doing everything I could to study.
Finally, it was the morning of the exam, and I didn’t know what to do. I woke up early, despite having stayed up late. I woke up an hour before my alarm to have breakfast and try to calm down. I was reading over everything, trying to memorize formulas I thought I would need, which only made me more anxious. My mom walked into the kitchen and asked if I was ready. I exclaimed, I didn’t know, as the math tests are usually hard, and I still didn’t know some of the things on it. Soon, I had to get ready so my mom could take me to school. She quizzed me on the way there. She told me it’s just a test. Be happy and do your best. But in my mind, I still doubted that I would do well. When first period started, I was still anxious. By second period, I kept thinking about what my mom had said: be happy. But math was next. I decided that it was just a test and that there was no need to panic. It was getting toward the end of the period, and everyone else in my class was dreading walking into math and taking the test, but I decided to change that. I started telling everyone there were only fifteen questions, and that we had done them throughout the year. This test was nothing to worry about. Some of them even started cracking a smile. At the end of the period, we had a ten-minute break. I told people to be confident and that they would smash the test. As we walked into class, most of them were smiling and saying they were going to get one hundred percent.
After the test, my classmates and I agreed it went well because we were happy and confident. The rest of the day went great. I didn't have to worry about the test anymore. The week went by fast. There was no more work to do because we had finished everything. We were just one day away from finding out what we got on the test. Finally, it was the last day. Everyone was happy to walk into math class and get their scores. I ended up getting one hundred percent along with some of my friends on the test, all because I chose to be happy and not panic. After all, it was just a test.
