Standardized Tests Suck

Let me tell you a story…

Nine days ago, a stressed young writer sat down in her local high school, surrounded by other not-nearly-as-nervous-seeming-test-takers, no. 2 soft lead pencil and scientific calculator in hand, and dared to take the PSAT/NMSQT.

This stressed young writer hates standardized tests that have a pesky habit of determining the academic future of a person, and as such, had a near panic attack on the way to said local high school. Once the building, a squat, wide complex stinking of opportunity, came into view, all bets were off. Her heart sped up, thudding dully inside her chest, and her palms began to sweat. She walked inside, chewing her bottom lip as if it were her only hope.

While her mother reported the reluctant arrival of her daughter, all our stressed young writer could hear and comprehend was the pounding of her heart. The next ten minutes passed slow (her family was notorious for arriving early) and all she wanted to do was crawl under the nearest blue cushioned chair and hide.

Finally, after an eternity, it was time. Our young writer was lost, with no idea where to go, seeing as she's a homeschooler who only sets foot on high school grounds to take said standardized tests. One, brave, front office worker offered to take the writer, and another home schooled boy, to the testing room. The walk was long, and quite painful in the writer's mind.

Upon arriving to the dreaded testing room, the writer was ushered inside, pushed to a seat in the front row, and given her testing materials. A very long time elapsed, filled with the furious filling in of personal information that will not be disclosed in such a public place at the world wide web--she was grateful though, as it gave her hands time to stop shaking.

Over all, the young writer feels good about how she did. Her overwhelming sense of panic and foreboding was replaced with a strange, fragile calm once the test booklet was opened and she read the first question. Unfortunately, she/we/I won't know just how well (or poorly) she did until December.

Now, with all that backstory out of the way (no, I won't be offended if you skipped all of that (okayiwillbutjustalittlebuthey)), I can get to what I actually wanted to tell you about.

This morning, after my very long, very warm shower, my Mom registered me for the ACT in December… And she's also looking at signing me up for the SAT. In December.

'Yay' does not even cover what I'm feeling right now.

Like I said, I just got finished with the PSAT. NaNoWriMo is going to basically take over my November, and now I might have not one, but two, tests in December.

somebodyhelpme
._.