?my light will shine when all else fade.

Tuesday, July 24, 2007

it's July 24
this day might be just an ordinary day, but for me, this is one of the most important day of my life. I've been waiting for this day to come. I will take my SAT today in Clayton State University.

I woke up 7am..I know it's peculiar because on ordinary days, I will sleep until 9am but now that i need extra sleep, i cant sleep! i turned-off the TV around 9:00 last night so I can sleep early but I can't sleep (I sleep around 11:00pm).

I prepared all the things last night..No. 2 pencils (check), admission ticket (chech), calculator (check), driver's license (check), watch (check), snack (check)..the exam will be 4 hours so i need food and drinks.

When I got off the bed, I check all the things I needed. I received phone calls from some of my friends (Daniel, Macey, Lily and Jai), thay just say "goodluck and keep your fingers cross".

My mom cook a decent breakfast for me. Rice, Eggs, Sausage and Corned Beef were on the table. I only eat a right amount. Ayoko naman mag-LBM noh! ayun....i took a bath and prepare myself.

The exam will start at 12nn so I went to the testing center around 11am..oh dba? di naman maxado excited. Wala lang..ayoko kasi na nape-pressure ako. Mas gusto ko na nandun ako ng maaga. Pagdating ko sa testing center, may guy na nandun. I assume he will also take his SAT so I sat near him. As usual, sinulyapan ko kung ano ginagawa nya (kung nagme-meditate pa sya), I saw him reading a book. He also noticed my presence so kinausap nya ako. Abraham yung name nya (oh xempre talagang sinigurado ko na malalaman ko yung name nya). He was reading a Bible pala! naku..ang weird naman. I had a small talk with him. This was his second time to take the test because he didn't do well on the first try. I think he needs to make his score higher so he can get into his course. Mega kwentuhan na kami. Tinanong ko yung mga dapat gawin kasi nine-nerbyos talaga ako.

After 10 minutes, may dumating na babae. She went to my table. Second Time na rin pala nya. As what I did to Abraham, I also established small talk to Veronica. Actually, mas marami kami napagkwentuhan kasi pareho kaming girl (we even talk about Abraham kasi ang cute nya..oooopppss..secret lang yun!). Then dumami na yung tao. Most of them look "mature" na compare sakin. Nag-comment nga sila Veronica and Abraham nung tiningnan nila yung driver's license ko, ang bata ko pa daw! wala lang..they were just surprised that I graduated highschool in a very young age (wala naman kasi middle school sa pinas). Tapos nung nalamn ni Abraham na Filipina ako, sabi nya agad "you must be good in math!". Ewan ko kung saan nya nakuha yung idea na kapag galing pinas, magaling sa math. Then may tumabi naman samin na girl named Charm (i dont know if that's her real name or nickname lang). Mega nakipagkwentuhan din sya. We exchanged cellphone numbers before the test started.

Tinawag na yung may surname na letter R's. Naku, huli pa ako tinawag kasi A and B yung nasa huli. I can't describe how I felt when I went inside the room. It's weird ksi expected ko na sobrang kakabahan ako. Pero ayun, wala akong maramdaman! parang di pa nagsi-sink-in sakin! parang wala ako sa katinuan. Yung mga student na nandun, mukhang relax lang..naka-smile. Well most of them took it before so they know what to expect. As i've promise to Daniel, I will concentrate on my own progress. Di ako makikialam sa business ng ibang tao. Ang iisipin ko lang ay yung exam na nasa harap ko. Hinintay namin yung mga late. Then may super cute na guy na pumasok sa room nung nagpifill-up na kami ng form. Pasaway ka talaga joan! I'm supposed to be filling up the information form but I stopped and look at him! pasaway talaga..infairness ang cute nya ahhh! pinagdasal ko na sana di xa umupo malapit sakin para di ako ma-distract o kung ano pa man..hay naku, kung minamalas nga naman, dun pa xa pina-upo sa gilid ko! as in gilid ko talaga! yung tipong kahit nakayuko ako, nakikita ko pa rin yung side nya..Major DIstraction talaga! naku, nung time na yun, parang naririnig ko yung boses ni Daniel nung sinabi nya na "Avoid Major Distraction".

After filling up the forms, we started the test. At that time, unti-unti ko na nakakalimutan na may cute sa gilid ko. The first part was a 25-minute essay. I know this is one of my weakest point. I'm afraid but I want to stay positive that time. I don't want my negative attitude to win over my optimism at this early part. I want to stay focus and avoid the negative thoughts. The topic is general enough that i can relate to it. The topic is about "our past", is it important to look behind our past if that already occured and we cant go back time to change it? On that point, I remembered my highschool history teacher. She said that past is always essential to our present and future. For we can always use our knowledge from the past so we will not commit the same mistake we did. Di ko maxado nasulat lahat ng gusto ko isulat. Ang mali ko dun, di ako nag-plano. Basta sinulat ko lang ng sinulat. I should've planned first so my ideas would be organized. In the end, sobrang mixed-up na ako. I still want to write more but I'm running out of time.

It's a rough start but I still want to keep up my positive attitude. Then came the critical reading section, also my weak point. I used all the techniques I learned from the my reviewer. It's working! since the sentence completion were arranged from easy to hard, on easy questions-the correct answer is always an easy word/s however, on hard questions-the correct answer is always hard word/s. I hoped the technique is really true. On passage-based reading (it's not arranged from easy to hard), it's kinda hard kasi ang haba ng passage! tamad pa naman ako magbasa! ayun, i used the technique from the book, don't read the passage! just read what you need! hehe..i go straight to the questions and answer as much as I can.

Then we had a 5-minutes break. Mejo strict yung proctor kasi pati yung break, naka-alarm clock talaga! ayoko sana umalis ng upuan ko kasi di naman ako nasi-CR. But then I have to move my muscles kaya maglalakad na lang ako. Nung time na nakalimutan ko na yung presence nung cute na katabi ko, nagparamdam na naman xa! sabay kami tumayo and we almost bumped into each other. Nag-sorry xa kahit di naman kami nagka-bangga talaga (slight lang). Tapos ayun..nauna xa nakipag-usap sakin while we were walking(di daw nya natapos yung test 2). I went to the bathroom pero di ako umihi. Nag-salamin lang ako at mejo nag-ayos ng buhok (xempre dapat maayos naman ako tingnan)

After our 'break', we started the next test. This time, it's math! my favorite part! now is the time to gain my confidence back again. I am more confident on Math secttion than any other section. Probably it's because I've already experience a very challenging Math course in UST or I just love math than english! My teechnique: on easy questions-the correct answer is an easy one while on the hard questions-the correct answer is a hard one (easy solution is a taboo on this part). Oh gosh..I finish the test on the exact time! pero may mga question ako na di sinagutan kasi maxadong mahaba ang computation. I dont want to waste my time on a time-consuming question. Remember: all the numbers are worth the same point regardless of its level of difficulty. And the cute guy on my side wants me to feel his presence na naman! nalaglag ba naman yung pencil nya sa paa ko (buti na lang nilinis ko kahapon yung nails ko!)! aba xempre na-distract na naman ako. oh well, patapos na naman ako nung time na yun kaya ok lang.

After that, we were on the Writing Skills section. It's composed of Identifying Errors, Improving Sentences, and Improving Paragraph. It's easier than the critical reading coz we dont have to do lots of reading. Aba xempre ginamit ko na yung mga techniques na nalalaman ko..

Then another 5-minutes break. Di ako lumabas ng room. I finally gained my confidence and i want to keep it up. This time, hindi rin lumabas yung cute na katabi ko. I tried not to look at him pero ayun, nakipag-usap n naman sakin (Maverick yung name nya). Wala siguro xa makausap na ibang student kasi yung katabi nya, puro babae and mga black americans. Oh well, teorya ko lang naman yun. Si cute guy kasi white american and he wants to make some distance away from those girls. Tsaka mukha siguro ako approachable kaya komportable sya na kausapin ako (again, teorya ko lang naman ito). Why not dba? basta wag lang maxado malakas boses namin kasi pagagalitan kami nung proctor.

Another Critical Reading na naman..
Then Math Section..
We are taking breaks after every two sets of test (we have a total of ten section sets)..
Each break, i'm talking to the cute guy beside me. Para kaming ewan kasi bulong lang talaga usapan namin!

I can't believe the test was over! parang di ko napansin yung pressure..malaki rin yung tulong ng pakikipag-usap ko kay Maverick. Nabawasan yung pressure! Actually, first time din nya mag-take ng SAT kaya parehas lang kami na nine-nerbyos. Ang laking issue nga sakanya pag di nya natatapos yung test ehh! sabi ko nga, okay lang na di mo masagutan yung ibang numbers para wala kang deduction. Just answer the questions that you are confident with so you dont lose points.

Atlast natapos na rin!
I can't wait to go home and read my harry potter book!
SO sad din kasi time to say goodbye na sa mga naging friends ko na sila Veronica, Charm, Abraham and Maverick. May mga nakausap din ako dun pero di ko na alam yung name nila. Atleast nakuha ko yung mga cell numbers nila! sana may communication pa rin kahit papaano.
As for Maverick, nag-miscol sya sakin to make sure na tama yung nakuha nyang number. Sana makapasa kaming lahat!
Wish me Luck!!! I hope I can pass on this one, if not, hihintayin ko pa ang December! (the next test would be on December)..
Goodnight na rin!
babasahin ko pa yung harry potter book!

SMILE...you're with me!