My Life Today Through Cartoons

So today was PSAT day! You cannot imagine how unhappy I felt about taking the test. Even though I had gotten pretty comfortable with the few practice tests I had done just before the test, I still knew today was going to be one heck of a day. So instead of just simply writing about my anxieties of the day, I thought I would express it through cartoons! 
I got to my test room at around 8:30 this morning. The proctor was one those stingy and snappy counselors. Like a proper proctor, she read all the instructions on the PSAT pamphlet. Instead of asking us to climb a tree, she informed us that as a fair way to gauge the selection of National Merit qualifiers, we would have to take a 2 hour and 10 minutes test that consisted of four 25 minute sections and one 30 minute section.

When I was handed my test packet and answer sheet, I immediately started sweating. What if there was a question I didn’t know? Would I have enough time to finish all the questions? Should I guess or leave a question blank if I don’t know it? These were questions that I probed myself with before the test. The more I looked at the test packet, the more I saw the words, “The Rest of Your Life!”. (It didn’t help that the room juxtaposed to my testing room was the copier room. So throughout the whole test I could hear the copiers go “ca-chunk” the whole time.)

When the test finally began, I sprinted off on the sections. The only section I really had an objection about was the second math section, surprisingly. I’m Asian. Math is my strong suit. But somehow time got away from me, and I found myself scurrying through the section, especially the free response portion. Maybe it was just me overreacting to the fact that I was running out of time. Soon enough though, I heard myself shouting profanities in my head. For some reason, the shouting of profanities in my head had a calming effect on my mental awareness, and I was able to finally focus and finish the section on time.

It’s 9:48 now. The test has long been over. Now it’s the worst part: waiting. This is the time when you think back to every question on the test and imagine if you accidentally bubbled in the wrong answer, misinterpreted a reading passage question, or miscalculated a math problem. This is also the time when you contemplate the implications of your PSAT score on your life. The picture is black and white. You can imagine yourself qualifying for National Merit and living happily ever after or you can imagine yourself getting less than a 213 and getting eaten by the big bad wolf.

The sad part about educational testing  these days is that you have to answer the right questions at the right time. If you don’t, then boy that’s too bad. I’m the girl in the middle of the picture; I’m just hoping that I’ll fit right in.

Advertisement