Most people’s favorite time of the year is a holiday or break such as Christmas, their birthday or summer vacation. Not me, however. My favorite time of the year? The weeks leading up to AP exams.
There’s something riveting about the way in which there are tests nearly every week. These tests are not small, insignificant quizzes or “quests,” either. No, these exams cover entire units, some worth up to a whopping 100 points. I shiver with excitement just thinking about it.
The week before April break, I was given four unit exams as a fond little goodbye gift from my teachers. It was so thoughtful of them, in fact, that I thought about (and even dreamed about) them all break! (I woke up screaming in the middle of the night thinking I had an FRQ the next day).
Of course, my teachers were kind enough not to have us take a test immediately upon our return from break. Instead, they just gave us warm-up, welcome-back quizzes in preparation for those tests.These quizzes would help me prepare for my AP finals the next week, which would then prepare me for the glorious AP exam itself the week after. Tests, tests, tests; give me those tests! After all, we all know that tests are the only way to actually prove your worth and knowhow.
Also, I pride myself on being time efficient, so why only take one test one at a time when I can take multiple tests in a single day. So, thank you, teachers, for communicating and organizing your tests so that they all fall on one singular day.
When I saw how my APUSH final, AP Statistics final and my math quiz all aligned on a Wednesday, I made a note in my reminders app to set aside some time later that day to scream into my pillow (with excitement, obviously). I am convinced that there is a wonderful meeting that teachers partake in each week to conspire–I mean, discuss–which day to put all their tests on in order to encourage students to challenge themselves and “push their limits.”
Once the week of AP exams is over, I won’t know what to do with myself.. I’ll be baking a sadness cake, with balloons and party streamers, along with dancing with disappointment that all of my stress will be gone.But you know what? Next year will be better, because not only will I be taking more AP courses as a junior, but I’ll even have the SAT and ACT to stress over! So my message to you is, don’t worry if you think that this year has been too good to you. Next year will be even worse, so jump for joy!
