Learning More Than Biology from My AP Test by Lexie

Learning More Than Biology from My AP Test by Lexie - May 2021 Scholarship Essay

Everyone agrees that 2020 was the worst. It was 365 days of nonstop political contention, natural disasters, and sickness. Amidst the chaos, individuals adapted to the changes as well as they could. Some changes, such as wearing masks and applying hand sanitizer, were inconveniences to me, but they were manageable. The lack of social interaction and online school were much harder to cope with. A specific example would be my AP test last year.

The Advanced Placement program did what they could to ease testing procedures for students. The AP Biology test, the one and only AP test I took, omitted the multiple-choice section entirely, and the essay portion was shortened drastically to two open-response questions. Personally, it was a blessing. Instead of a three-hour test in a high school gymnasium, it was 45 minutes in the comfort of my own home!

The test would be so much easier online, and I was confident for it. My sophomore year (I took the AP Biology test my junior year) I took regular biology, so it was like I was double prepared; I received A’s throughout the term; my teacher went above and beyond to prepare the class. Although the questions on the AP Biology test focused on units I was not confident in, I did a good job.

At least that is what I thought until I received my score. I failed. It was infuriating that I spent $80 and hours of study for nothing. All the A’s on my high school transcript did not mean anything to me because I failed that test. At first, I was distraught, angry, and confused; however, I did let this failure bring me down. I never blamed online school or the pandemic for my poor performance, I failed but that did not define me as a failure. It hurt a little when my friends rejoiced about their threes and fours, and it was awkward when family asked me how I scored on the test. I would simply say that I tried my best, and it is alright that it did not work out.

The story does not end there. Weeks later, I received another email from the Advanced Placement program. It took me a while to gain the courage to read it. I did not want to be reminded of my failure. Eventually I opened it, and I found out that my teacher had spent my test back in for reevaluation. A few days later, I received another email saying that other the reevaluation, I passed the test! My hard work was not in vain after all. I went back to my biology teacher’s classroom to personally thank him for resubmitting my essay.

From this experience, I learned how to deal with failure: do not ignore it, do not shift the blame, and do not let it define you. Even though you do everything in your power to succeed, sometimes it does not work out in your favor--or in ways you expect. I did not expect that my teacher would resubmit my test, and I doubt that another one of my failures would be reevaluated as a “slip in the system.” This experience also taught me that miracles happen. The world is not constantly throwing pandemics and civil unrest at humanity like 2020 would make it seem. There are times where life throws you a bone, and you got to make the best of what you are given. My AP test helped me learn that.