exam

I was about to sit for an exam. I arrived early and found my notes, desperately studying as I was anxious to perform well. I read and reread the information while other people arrived and took their places at desks that were lined up in neat rows in the room. No one else seemed to be as concerned as I felt about the exam. Finally, the supervisor arrived, handed out the examination papers and started the clock. I read the first question again and again but the words seemed not to fit together and by the time I read the end of the sentence I had forgotten what the beginning of the sentence said. This occurred with every question in the four page test. I felt incredibly scattered and could not decipher the meaning of any of the questions or remember the answers that I had studied. Time was up. Other people handed in their papers but I waited, holding onto mine. For some reason, now that the clock had stopped and the pressure was lifted, I immediately felt clear and calm. My supervisor asked me for my paper and I asked for just a few minutes while I completed it as I had not answered a single question. She allowed it and I began the paper, writing as fast as I could, but this time with certainty. It turned out that every answer was there in the question - all I needed to do was see it. I completed the paper knowing that I had done my best.