When the semester started, I was throttled into a heap of conceptual topics in programming, mathematics and physics. The semester started a few days earlier than I had originally thought, which would haunt me to the end with a feeling of being behind.
The stress proved strong enough to encourage errors on my part – barely making assignment deadlines only to turn in the wrong assignment or even forgetting assignments outright – precious points towards grades which would have very real affects on my academic career.
For this semester, no class could be passed at lower than a C level, or I would be delayed in my curriculum. On top of this, I had poured on a secondary stress of expecting high grades in all classes – a mistake I hope not to repeat in the future. Grades are important, but getting the material in to your noggin’ is, by far, the most important consideration.
All of my Calculus tests were on Saturday mornings, after I had 2 twelve hour night shifts and without rest from the night before. In the past, I had found out that taking tests this sleep deprived resulted in, at minimum, an entire grade level lower than I would have performed if I had been rested.
My second Calculus test had proven that true, scoring at 80% – the lowest I would score on a Math test thus far. I had to find a magic level of caffeine that allowed me to perform on tests while simultaneously allowing me to fall asleep as soon as I got home from the test so I would be rested for yet another night shift.
By far, the most intimidating course was my Physics course, if only because I kept telling myself that it was my most intimidating course. Truth be told, more than two-thirds of the class dropped by mid-terms and out of 114 seats, I would estimate only 24 or so had been full for the final exam.
Regardless of that truth, there is no advantage to intimidating yourself over the difficulty of material. Accepting the difficulty and adjusting study habits accordingly is appropriate, but scaring yourself into a fetal position over the class only promotes test anxiety – something I’ve rarely experienced in my life.
That’s when the real fun happened. In one week, I had exams in Calculus, Programming II, and Physics. The two weeks leading up to this week would be ravaged with high-blood pressure and a headache the likes of which I’ve never experienced before. I even had an MRI/MRA over the ordeal only to find out it was probably all just stress.
Sure enough, as each exam was completed, my headache subsided more and more.
Alas, we make it to finals. Somehow, I had lifted my grades from D’s and C’s to A’s and B’s, but the margins were thin. I knew I had to perform on my Calculus Final and Physics final to make a decent grade. To keep an A in Calculus, I needed an A on the exam. To get a B in Physics, I would need to pass the exam with no questionable margin.
Apparently, whatever I did worked. I ended the Semester with an A in programming, an -A in Calculus I and a B in Physics. I couldn’t be happier with that outcome, especially for how the semester began.
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