Saturday, February 12, 2011

Oh, the woes of standardized testing.

Today was a very traumatic event... I took the ACT.

It's not like I think I bombed it or anything; in fact, I'm sure it went fairly well. As an extremely logical person, I tend to score highly on exams. That said, the actual test-taking experience still sucks. I get distracted pretty easily, my mind focusing on a hundred different random thoughts at once. Concentrating on one stupid test for five hours is not exactly my idea of a party.

What made this experience worse than any previous exam I have taken is the pressure to score well, combined with the lack of ways to prepare. I brought eleven pencils with me, solely because it was the only aspect I could control beforehand. Usually I feel rather apathetic when a test is coming up, and I have virtually no experience studying. The ACT and SAT are such an important part of college applications that I actually felt anxiety for what I'm pretty sure is the first time ever, at least regarding a test. I hate this feeling; in the grand scheme of things, I am of the firm belief that one measly standardized test should be of no consequence to my future. Considering I am in no control of the way the world works, I have spent way too much time lately fretting. God, I can't wait until my scores come in and the suspense is over.

I am mentally exhausted; this post probably makes no sense at all. It's probably best if I just abandon recording my tangled thoughts here and go to bed. :P

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