**Note: continuing with the half-finished until after finals posting. Enjoy!
I know what you are expecting here…a post about how much I am freaking out about finals next week. Well, guess what? I like to shake things up sometimes, so that’s not what I’m writing about. Yet.
Around Thanksgiving I promised that I would break down the levels of testing panic. Without further ado here they are:
“On a scale of 1-10, I’m at a 3…until I start the test” level
This is where you feel like you understood the content pretty well during class and have been able to apply some of the concepts. You probably can’t go into detail, but you know enough words to trick people into thinking you know what you’re talking about. Basically, you’re studying for the “A.” Hard to get motivated at this point. Interestingly, with this level, the panic doesn’t really set in until your sitting in class, staring at the test thinking “What does this word even mean? WHY DIDN’T I STUDY MORE?” Also, this automatically puts the next test for this class into the quality studying category. There will be no more messing around or cursory review. It's hardcore, baby, hardcore.
"Let's get worried cause I'm going to have to rock the final to pull down a B" level
This happens about 1/3 of the way through the semester. You've had at least 1 test in every class, maybe 2 tests, and the dreaded comprehensive assessments are right around the corner. If the assessment test goes badly, you're going to have to get really worried, but right now the panic is more of a gentle reminder to get your act together and study. It always seems worse then it really is, and if you don't do well on that assessment, you really will have to rock out that final to get a "B" in the class. This hasn't ever happened to me, but I was somewhere between these 2 levels at least twice during the past semester.
“Definitely going to have to squint and do some deep breathing while checking my grade” level
Generally, this happens with your hardest class of the semester. You know you have to give the test its due diligence because it will be hard, but for some reason you just have trouble grasping the core concepts. (Note: This happens every time I attempt to think about Chemistry.)
As you’re taking the test, you start to get a funny feeling in your stomach. This is followed by the feeling that you swallowed rocks, followed by a cavernous pit forming as the test progresses. You may even break out in a cold sweat. However, by the end you have pulled it together somewhat and convinced yourself that it wasn’t as bad as you thought. That’s why you squint and breathe when you check the grade—to avoid that stomach feeling.
“Get up before class and study” level
If you have read my blog for like 5 minutes, you know I am not a morning person. Suffice to say this is the highest level of panic I can think of—realizing that I have to get up before a test and do a final review to reassure myself that I will not bomb the test. It doesn’t get any worse then this.
