Exams can be rough to say the least. The couple of weeks prior to an exam can take you on an emotional rollercoaster. From complete confidence to extreme sadness... you'll feel it all, but it's a common thing. Here are the stages of taking a test explained by Scandal.
1. You're told about the test.
It’s a couple weeks away and you're super motivated, convincing yourself that you're gonna ace the test. You make plans to study every day until the test vowing to do whatever it takes to learn the material inside out.
2. The break that interrupts it all.
It’s now a few days before and you're just sitting down to actually study for the first time. You’re really good for about 15 minutes, but then you convince yourself it’s okay to check your phone for a minute. But one minute turns into twenty which then turns into an hour. You regret even taking the break but decide you’ll just pick it up tomorrow.
3. Being in denial.
Now it's the day before but you're still convincing yourself that you’ll study all day and you will be fine. Maybe you're not aiming for that perfect score anymore but you're still expecting to do well.
4. Convincing your friends that you can still do well.
Everyone around you is extremely doubtful at this point but you still believe in yourself.
5. Realizing you'll have to cram.
After your motivation wore off, you watched half a season on Netflix and it’s past midnight and you're freaking out. You know you’ll have to stay up all night to study just to do decently on the test but you’re up for the challenge.
6. When the exhaustion becomes real.
Eventually you become so tired that you're delirious and you convince yourself that the best thing to do is go to sleep so that you're not too tired for the exam. You just end up tossing and turning because you know you should be studying.
7. Looking for small moments to study on the day of the exam.
All day leading up to the exam you look for any minute to study, though subconsciously you know that these moments probably won't be enough.
8. Knowing that your guessing game has to be on point.
In the moments before the exam you are finally real with yourself and admit that you're not nearly prepared enough. You just hope that your judgment is as sharp as possible.
9. You find some questions that you know for sure.
There end up being a few questions right away that you know for sure, which reaffirms your hope. You are still optimistic that this test won't be a complete mess.
10. Then there's a bunch that you don't know.
Once again your confidence is shattered because you stumble upon questions that you have no idea even how to approach. Back to the guessing game.
11. Questioning your professor.
At this point you think that you're looking to blame anyone but yourself. So you begin to convince yourself that your professor has made the test incredibly hard and you don't know why.
12. Filling in the ones you left blank.
There are some that you skipped in case the answers magically came to you, but at this point you just put something down.
13. Being thrilled when you're done.
You hand in your test and now matter how you feel your performance was, you're just happy to have it out of your hands.
14. Reality hits you.
The celebration doesn't last too long because you then realize that you probably didn't do too hot and at this point all you can do is pray.
15. Someone asks you how it went.
At this point you don't know how to respond because you're just shot.
16. You decide to put it behind you.
You figure that for your own sake you need to stop agonizing over it and put it out of your mind... until it's handed back, at least.
17. The day of truth.
As soon as you wake up the morning of getting the test back there is a knot in your stomach. You're on edge all day and completely terrified of what's to come.
18. Waiting for your professor to call you name.
19. It's all over.
No matter what grade is on the paper the whole process in finally over and you couldn't be happier.
20. Realizing it's a cycle.
After all the bliss you realize that in a few weeks you'll probably have to do this all over again.
Though we often fall into this cycle, it can be broken. Each test is a chance to improve and refine study habits. Don't lose complete hope because it doesn't always have to be this stressful. Not procrastinating is key but we all knows that's easier said than done. If all else fails just ask yourself, "What would Olivia Pope do?"
