Have you ever felt like you've seriously got not idea what's even going on? Have you ever gotten like halfway through a shift at work and realized that you've totally been winging it? Have you ever sat down before a test with no clue what chapter you were supposed to study, or what the format it is, or even which class it is? Well, don't worry, cause I'm right there with you, and I'm here to give you some tips and tricks to living life in perpetual confusion.

First of all, let's talk about exams. You bust into that classroom running off three hours of sleep and an energy drink you bought on the way to school and blink twice as the professor tells you to sit down. You are so screwed. You were up until four A.M. last night, you tell yourself you were studying, but we both know you were listening to music and thinking about aliens, so cut the crap. This would all be easier if you had just done some preparation, but it's too late for that, and anyway, you like to live life on the edge. You've got five minutes before the exams starts, you left your textbook at home and your friends are just as dumb as you are. What do you do?

Well, first of all, you whip out that cell phone before you waste another valuable second. You load up that syllabus and you find out what story you were supposed to read, cause God knows no one sitting near you is gonna have a clue. You search type Mary Wollstonecraft into safari like your life depends on it (cause it does) and find the shortest summary out there. Not analysis, not "insights into," summary. You've got three minutes left, you aren't gonna be able to read the whole thing. Call back on your high school career and skim that baby like it's low-fat milk and hope you caught the important parts. The professor clears his throat, he's starting the exam. You don't put that phone away until he tells the whole room. You can't afford to be polite anymore, suck it up. It's time, you still aren't ready but it's the final hour. What now?

The key is to act like you're prepared. Write those answers in like you mean it. You get stumped, you move it along. You aren't gonna make the honors list anymore, you just gotta pass. It's time to make sacrifices. Whatever's worth the most points, you do that first. Multiple choice be dammed, you get that essay portion done and you get it done right. At the end of it, you survey your work and make absolutely absurdly certain that you answered what you could. Then you stand up, take a deep breath, square your shoulders and slap that exam down on the desk. Whatever happens, happens. It's out of your hands now, time for your next test.

Your grade pops up a week later. You passed. Barely.

Now you're headed to your fast food job. Your manager told you he needed you for something important today, and asked if you were up for it. You felt like that was a challenge. Turns out he wants you to be in charge for an hour while he takes care of some stuff in the back. I'm competent, you tell yourself, I can handle it.

You were so wrong.

Now you're looking on in horror while the whole store slowly crashes and burns. Your hands are sticky and you aren't sure from what, your coworkers aren't doing their jobs and out of the corner of your eye, you can see customers getting angry. You weren't ready for this. Your eyes dart to the door, you contemplate legging it. It's too late for that, you've got to take action. Strap on your big-boy boots, you're about to get real.

Remember when you were in denial about being prepared for that test? Well, it's time to lie to yourself again. Now you've got to pretend you're confident, act like you are in fact not clueless. Tall order, I know. Hang in there. You muster up the deepest voice you've got and you tell your coworkers to get it together, you apologize to the customers and you just start throwing out bags of food like they're grenades until the line fades. A couple of panic attacks later, the rush passes and you have a second to frantically wipe things down until you've created the illusion that everything's fine before you're boss returns. You did it, you're alive, and you've still got a job.

Lather, rinse and repeat. You're now officially ready to cope with not being ready. But hey, that's life. You never thought it was going to be like this, you thought you had it all figured out in sixth grade. Turns out, adults don't know what they're doing, and you've got the sneaking suspicion that you're never gonna.

But don't worry, you'll be alright. No matter what, from now on, you've just gotta remember the six wisest words in the human language.

Fake it 'til you make it.