The pressure was too much! by Savannah

The pressure was too much! by Savannah - May 2016 Scholarship Essay

Going through my middle school, and high school years I discovered a sad truth. I was a victim of test anxiety. I was never good at taking tests but with all of the ones given to me in my later years of public schooling, it became a more prominent issue in my life. Not only was it affecting my self-esteem and confidence in my ability to do well on the test, it began to make it virtually impossible for me to take a test at all. I had tried all of the methods: listening to music, being in a room by myself, or even verbal testing. Nothing seemed to work so eventually I turned to my teachers to see what else I could do.
They questioned me about what I was doing to prepare for each test, and while I knew I was never the best at studying, I soon discovered that that was a reason as to why I was testing so badly. I was not confident in my abilities to perform well on the test because I was not adequately prepared. So the new challenge was figuring out what I had to do in order to feel more prepared for the test. Seems simple, right? Wrong. I tried almost everything to study the best I could but each test that came was another failure. I couldn’t figure out what it was I was doing incorrectly. Soon I found myself in the classroom every day after school working with my teacher to practice for the test. Day after day I went in there seeking any help I could get because I wanted to do well, I wanted to succeed in that difficult class. Soon the day of the final exam approached. I was very nervous but felt confident in my ability to do well this time. The test began and I was feeling pretty good with the work I was doing. Things I had gone over with my teacher were coming back into my memory and I was focused enough on my work that being in a room with other people didn’t bother me. When the test was over, I had a different feeling come over me. I wasn’t dreading getting my score back, I wanted it immediately! When I finally got my score it was the best grade on a test I had ever gotten. I had finally found what worked, going in after school every day to get the extra study time with my teacher.