Live Blogging My Brain Before a Test

Sparkler Persie05988 is having a panic attack. Quick, someone get this girl a cookie or something! —SparkNotes editors

So, it's finally here. The day of that exam you've been studying for all month. The day of that exam you've been dreading. The day of that exam that's worth a big chunk of your final grade, but no pressure, right? Well, actually, there is a lot of pressure, and that pressure might turn your thoughts into something like this:
7 a.m. "Okay. I can do this. I can do this. I will pass the course. Wait! If I get a zero on this exam...will I still pass the course?"
*Gets calculator, calculates things*
"Good. I will pass the course with a 54% if I get a zero on this exam. No! I can't think like this. My mom told me to stay positive! I'm the little engine that could! I'm the little engine that WILL! Oh, gosh, I'm so nervous."

8 a.m. "All right. Going to school, going to school. Can I remember my notes? I'll try to visualize them. Oh, no! I can't remember anything! It's okay. Calm down. Deep breaths. Wait...maybe I took a few too many deep breaths. That guy is looking at me funny. Maybe he thinks I'm hyperventilating. I'll stop taking deep breaths."

9 a.m. "First period. It's already first period. My exam is in exactly an hour and a half. I can do this. Hey! Why is my teacher yelling at me? Oh, great. I guess I'd better pay attention, or I'll be in detention. Hey! That rhymed!"

10:20 a.m. "Okay. I'm at my locker. My exam is in ten minutes. Oh, no, my exam is in ten minutes. Wait, no, focus. Do I have everything I need? Pencils? Check. Pen? Check. Ruler? Check. Calculator? Check. Eraser? Check. I hope I'm not forgetting anything."
*Bell rings*
"Oh, dear. I need to go. What if I'm late? I'll get a zero if I'm late. I won't be able to write the exam if I'm late! I'd better run! Oops. I'd better stop running. I just got yelled at by some random teacher."

10:30 a.m. "Okay, this is it. I'm sitting at this desk, and my teacher is giving me my exam. She's also saying something. What is she saying? I'm too nervous to pay attention to anything right now. That probably isn't good. She's probably giving really important instructions. I should try to pay attention. Internal dialogue turns off.....NOW!"

During the Exam "Wait, a minute! This isn't so bad! I know all these answers! That studying really paid off! This is going to be easy! This is going to be a cinch. Oh, no. I don't know the answer to that question. This wasn't in my notes! Did we ever even learn this? Maybe I wasn't there that day. That's probably it. All right. I'll skip this question and come back to it at the end."
*At the end*
"Great. I still don't know the answer to that question. Everything else was pretty easy though. But this one question. This one question is the question that stands in the way of my victory! Oh, no. We have one minute left. I'd better just write something down. Anything really. All right. The answer is...oh no. Time's up. I'll write down 2.4. I like that number. 2.4 is a good number."

After the Exam "I did well. That was easy. Wait. Maybe all the questions were trick questions! What if that was it? Great. I have to wait another week to see my mark."

One Week Later "I passed? I passed? YES! YES! YES! I got a good grade. I got an 87%! I PASSED!!!!!!!!! This is over! I never have to take an exam again! At least until June."

Have you ever freaked out before a test? What did you tell yourself?

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