The Homeschooler vs The Standardized Test

Few things are more stressful than the idea of sitting in a quiet room for three to four hours and taking a test surrounded by unknown people. 

Seriously, what's scarier than dropping a pencil and having roll underneath the desk of the person in front of you?! Or drinking too much water during the break and having an obnoxiously loud stomach for the second half of the test. Oh, and the break itself is scariest of all! You don't want to seem awkward by not talking to anyone, but you definitely don't want to actually initiate conversation.

Yesterday, I took my third standardized test and I came to a realization. 

No one else was paying attention to me.

Seriously. They were all there to take the test, not to judge the way that I hold my pencil. When I started taking the test, it required my full attention. I went into a zone where I was unaware of the people around me, as did everyone else. 

Standardized tests are scary. Especially for the homeschooler. Taking a test at a desk?! For three hours? Personally, I much prefer curling up on the couch underneath a blanket while I eat something unhealthy. I thought I couldn't do it. When I took the SAT in June, I walked into an unknown school full of unknown people and sat down and took the test. And you know what? 

I came out unscathed. 

In the battle of Homeschooler VS. Standardized test, I rose victorious. 

.......

Okay, that may be a bit of an exaggeration...I basically just walked out of the school with and tried to seem cool while texting my dad.

BUT

Anyone - homeschooler or not - deserves some sort of medal certificate of awesomeness or something after completing the last standardized test of their high school careers. Or any test for that matter. It is mentally exhausting, but the feeling of relief after walking out of the test room is worth it.

Even the dreaded break isn't that bad (drinking water, eating cheese, and pretending to read the anti-bully posters on the wall can make you seem busy ;) ).