Every Sunday night, it feels like the exam has already begun

Scenes

• The exam hasn’t arrived yet, but my mind is already there — It’s 10:40 p.m. on Sunday. At the desk, I check the exam date again. Tomorrow’s anxiety opens before my books do.
• I flip through an exam I haven’t even taken yet — I haven’t even started, but I’m already flipping through the exam in my head. Even when I open my book, nothing stays with me.
• I count the days, then push my notebook aside — I close the exam schedule, open it again, count the days left, then push my notebook aside. The place to begin grows blurry.
• The more I check, the farther the first page gets — Test anxiety grows when it’s unclear how much is enough. Checking the material again and again may calm you for a moment, but soon you’re back at the beginning.
• Choose just one page for tomorrow’s first fifteen minutes — Tonight, write down just one page to open during the first fifteen minutes tomorrow. Even if the anxiety remains, you can see where to begin.
• Even when anxiety comes, a place to begin remains — The anxiety may come back next Sunday too. When it does, where would you like to keep the one page you’ll open first?