My Acedemic Obstacle by Jena

My Acedemic Obstacle by Jena - June 2016 Scholarship Essay

During my freshman year of high school, my teachers began preparing my classmates and I for the ACT and SAT. We would take time during class to go over some old test booklets and some practice courses online. I, like most of the other students, knew that these tests would be timed for each section. However, I was not fully prepared for the obstacle that awaited me.
The time had come. All the practicing and studying I had been doing was finally going to pay off. I had never felt this ready for a test ever before. I made my way into a small classroom filled with multiple other students with anxiety pouring down their faces. As I took my seat towards the back of the class I began to wonder why everyone looked so anxious. Slowly but surely I began to figure it out.
The test started shortly after I had taken my seat. The English section was first. I had always been pretty good at this subject so I thought it would be a breeze. I remember having about twenty questions left when the woman giving our test announced that we had only five minutes left. And that’s when it hit me. So many thoughts began racing through my head. I started to panic. My hands became sweaty and I could feel my cheeks and ears getting red. Fortunately, I was able to finish that section. As the test went on I struggled but managed to finish every section on time except the science portion. I had about thirty questions left when we reached the five minute mark.
My first ACT score was a 19. It wasn’t great but it wasn’t horrible either. I told myself that I could only go up from this point on. I felt so determined to do better on my next try, and I did. My second ACT score was a 20 and the last time I took the test I received a 22.
One thing I learned after overcoming this obstacle was that the more I practice the better I will be. I also learned that I need to pace myself better. Spending too much time on one question and not enough time on others can really hurt me in the long run. The most important thing I learned was to not stress. Even if I got every question wrong, I knew I would have another shot at this again. I knew I would have to study ten times harder but at least I could have another shot to get my score up.