With Christmas right around the corner the first semester of school ends. Students are getting fidgety to get out of school and get through testing. Every year of testing throughout Gaffney high school has been different for me. Covid struck while I was in my freshman year, so we did not have EOC’s.  In 10th grade we had an AB system. The system was set up where the A group came Monday, and Wednesday and B students came Tuesday and Thursday. They alternated Fridays, so testing was only on certain days for certain groups. Personally, it got confusing and irritating. In 11th grade, my junior year, we had a certain day for each block for testing. 1st block was on Monday, 2nd on Tuesday, 3rd on Wednesday, and 4th on Thursday. This year, my 12th grade year, we have 1st and 2nd block testing on one day and 3rd and 4th block testing on a different day. People can exempt exams if they have a B or higher and up to 6 unexcused absences or none whatsoever. Many students have test anxiety and feel as if they are not ready, but every student should keep in mind that after testing, we get out of school for Winter/Christmas Break. The last couple of weeks of semesters are hard for everybody; teachers having to get all their grades in, students trying to get everything turned in before it is too late, having to study for final exams, and sicknesses spreading like wildfire. Many students like to try and wait towards the end of the semester to turn all their work in at once – and while sometimes few teachers will allow it, some will not. If everybody was to wait until the last minute to turn everything in, it would cause chaos. Grades would not get turned in on time and that alone would mess everybody up. Studying for exams is stressful and many students will get together with their classmates to study together or go to the teachers for help. Some students do not study at all, and they surprisingly get good grades. On the other hand, some do not study, and they get bad grades. Some study and get good grades, and the list goes on. It all depends on how the student retains the information that they need to know and what they do with their knowledge. If you are like me and have testing anxiety, then you may do good on all your work such as quizzes, homework, and schoolwork but may not do good on the final exam. The best advice to have throughout school is to get everything done as it is assigned to you. This way, you do not get points taken off for it being late or a zero for it not being done at all. Another struggle happening during this stressful time is sicknesses going around. About the end of October and the beginning of November, when the weather is crazy, it seemed that people were always getting sick. The parking lots were always a little emptier than normal and classrooms were a little smaller. There is about a week left in the semester until Christmas break. Remember to stay focused and keep your priorities straight; break is just around the corner. Good luck to everybody with testing and Happy Holidays!