The Stress to Success!

After working hard all semester long in my Junior year, it was time to see my final

semester grade in my Calculus-AB class. As my teacher Mrs. Clark handed my grade

back, I was disappointed to see I was only .03 points from my number grade rounding to
an A. After hard work in a tough AP environment, I was hoping to get an A because I
had put so much effort into the class. Even though I was still proud of my self, I felt that I
deserved an A. !
!

I had been to class every single day and had not missed any instructional time in

the classroom. Since I hadn't missed any days in the class, I was exempt from the
teacher-made exam at the end of the semester. Even though there was no need for me
to take the test, Mrs. Clark encouraged me to take it anyways. She wanted me to take
the exam, see how I did, and try to make a good grade on it so it could pull my final
grade up to an A. I talked to her about the situation and told her I did not feel like taking
an exam that I did not have to take. I didnt want to stress myself out for no reason. !
!

Even though I was not confident that I could make an A on this test, she

continued to encourage me to take it anyways. I finally decided I would take a study

guide home and look over it. When I got home and looked over the study guide I told
myself there was no way I was taking a 75 questions test for no reason. Just knowing
that there were so many questions to study, it left me feeling nervous and uneasy. I felt
that I understood the material that would be on the test, I just didn't feel very confident in
myself to make an A. I felt that studying was going to be a waste of my time because I
didn't have confidence in myself. Even though I didn't feel the need to take the exam, I
studied anyways. I sat in my room looking over the study guide with my mind running

everywhere other than focusing on math. As I continued to work out the math problems I
could feel a decrease in the extremely low confidence level I already had. I was
stressed to the max and couldn't help but think negatively about the situation. Even after
studying that night I still didn't want to take this exam the next day. I had an attitude that
was determined to tell Mrs. Clark I wasn't taking something pointless. I wanted to sit and
sleep rather than being one of the ones having to actually take the exam.!
!

Once I got to her class the next day she began handing out the exams to all the

students that were required to take the test. As I watched her walk around the room I
could hear the sound of her flip-flops getting closer to me. As she laid the piece of paper
down on my desk, she looked at me with confidence on her face and told me to try my
best. I knew now that I had no choice but to prove myself wrong. I knew I needed to
lose the attitude and just do my best. From this point on I became determined in my
hardheaded self. As I looked around the room and saw the other students working, all I
could look at was the off-white walls surrounding me and the SmartBoard at the front of
the classroom. I finally decided to look down at my desk and caught a glimpse of the
intimidating test in front of my face now. As I almost took a second guess and refused to
take the exam, I looked at all the other students working hard. Even though they have
no idea, the hard working faces they were making made me want to be successful. I
unzipped my book bag, grabbed my calculator and immediately started working on the
test. I felt nervous because I wanted to make Mrs. Clark proud. She told me from the
beginning that she believed in me to be successful and I didn't want to let her down. !
!

As I went from question to question, I started to realize the test was the exact

same as the study guide I had studied the night before. Once I saw the answer choices

I was able to easily remember the answer. I began to feel joy because I knew for a fact I
was going to do great! Half way done with the test, I looked up to see out the window to
take a break from the test. As I looked out the cracked window, I was able to see the
wind blowing the leaves on the trees. The animals were walking around their fenced in
area outside of the big red barn. I could also hear the noisy sound of cars driving by the
window. It was a moment of relaxation that I definitely took advantage of.!
!

Once I got back to working on my test, I flipped the page to the next side for the

other questions. At the time, all I could hear were students typing on calculators and
their pencils scribbling down answers. Just from the sound of all that, it encouraged me
to feel even more confident in myself. Now it was time to buckle down and finish the test
before lunch time. The question I was looking down at read: What is the slope of the
tangent line to the graph of the function f(x)=ln(sin2x+3) at the point where x=3.14/3? I
could feel my mind going blank and I couldn't remember what to do. I was getting
extremely frustrated with myself. !
!

As I got close to the last ten questions, the hard, uncomfortable desk was

distracting me, along with my long hair falling in my face. I was getting so hungry for
lunch and was having a hard time paying attention to my test. I kept squirming in my
seat, making it obvious that I was getting frustrated. I continued to tap my pencil and
shake my legs to keep me concentrated until I was finished. Even though it was getting
difficult to finish my test I was able to strive to complete it before it was time for lunch. !
!

During lunch Mrs. Clark graded all the test and was able to return them to us

individually after lunch. When she called me over I was extremely nervous to hear the
score. She looked at me with proudness in her eyes and said congratulations you have

made an A in the class because you passed the test with an 96. I could not believe her
when she told me! It was a time to remember because if it was not for her
encouragement and confidence in me, I would not have made an A in her class. !
!

Mrs. Clark has always been such an amazing teacher and believes that all her

students can be successful. Since then she has helped me accomplish a fear in life, I
have found her to be an adult that has made the literacy of my life become more
successful than ever. I never thought I would be able to appreciate a teacher as much
as I have appreciated her. I cannot wait to use her confidence in me as a reason for the
career path I decide on. She has definitely been the reason I want to major in some type
of math, even though I have not quite decided exactly what yet. I am so glad I had a
teacher like her in high school to help me understand that I can be successful in myself
if I strive to be the best I can be.