Bow Before the Altar of Semester Exams!

"As long there are tests, there will be prayer in schools."

I don't know who said this, but it is funny only as long as it is true. Now, I will admit that I have done my fair share of praying before a big test, but I have never felt the need to ask for help from above when I walked into the test knowing I was prepared.

As a student, the worst feeling in the world is looking at the first page of a test and realizing that you did not study enough. I remember taking a midterm exam in a poetry class in college. I don't remember how or why I was so unprepared for this test; I only remember sitting there for over an hour fumbling through this monstrousity and feeling like I was drowning. As painful as the experience was for me, I learned a valuable lesson: The pain of really preparing for a test is far less than the pain of taking a test for which you have not prepared.

When the final exam for that class rolled around, I spent two days prior to the test doing nothing but living, drinking, and eating poetry. I had done the math, and my grade was such that getting an A on the test would not bump me up from a B to an A in the class, and all I had to do was not fail the test in order to keep from dropping to a C, but that was not important to me. Proving to myself that the content of this class was not more than I could handle was the only thing that mattered to me. I wanted to crush this test just to prove that I belonged in the class.

I realized early in my college career that judging my value or intelligence based on a series of five letters was about the most useless and destructive thing I could do. I have seen brilliant students get C's because of circumstances outside of their control and complete baffoons get A's because they are really good at "school". What really mattered to me was whether or not I got what I needed or wanted out of every class. Don't get me wrong, good grades can open a lot of doors, but do not make the mistake of thinking that getting less than perfect grades closes all doors. You may just have to find a window here or there.

What is the point of all this babbling? The point is that many of you either need or deserve to do well on the semester exams next week. However, I can tell you that needs, wants, and aspirations will not translate into a good grade. The only way to ensure that you do well on the semester exam is to pull out the material from the semester and make sure you know it forward and backward. It will be painful, but not nearly as painful as taking the class again next year.

Now, since you need to be studying instead of reading my musings, I will leave you with a final morsel for thought. After you finish your tests next week, you have sixteen days straight in which to recover. All you have to do is push yourself for seven days, and then you get to rest. Why does that sound familiar? Anyway, you all can do it. I know you can, or I wouldn't waste my time trying to help you do it.

GOOD LUCK!

*Author's Note: I totally owned that poetry final --I think I got one of the highest test scores in the class. I still got a B for the course.*