Studying for hours a day, taking practice test after practice test, going over hundreds of flashcards, all for one of two tests, the SAT and the ACT. When I first started the process I dreaded every moment of it. I hated going over past participles, reading short unengaging passages, and reviewing simple algebra. What was worse was that I found no excitement in what I was preparing for: the hours of sitting in a room in a foreign school quietly taking a supposedly familiar test.

At first, to me that was not possible because I did not enjoy the material and I was not looking forward to the future of taking the test either. Hours and hours and hours of studying really did not seem useful to me at all. Even after the first time I took the ACT I felt every part about it was useless to me.

But after the second time I took it, I had a revelation. The practice tests and studying had obviously paid off. The skills I practiced strengthened basics that are necessary to know for everything. Simple math problems shouldn’t take a calculator to do. I should not have to stare at a graph for five minutes to answer a straightforward question. There is a sense of satisfaction in completing a question accurately and quickly.

There is absolutely no point in dreading the studying you must allot for for months. Instead, be thankful to have the opportunity to strengthen your skills and to have a place to test those skills. Of course, you can send in your scores into colleges but scores are worth so much more. Scores represent how hard you have studied and how much dedication you have put in. Don’t get angry over not getting a 35 on the ACT or a 2400 on the SAT, instead look at the score you started with on practice tests and the score you received on your proctored test. And remember, you do not have to stop taking the ACT or the SAT after one time. Put in the work and take pride in your determination.

Contact Daniella at dmohazab@tphnews.com