My last final

     Was this past Monday. It was scheduled from 1-3 PM. I decided to wake up a little before 9:30 AM so I could get to campus early to get some extra studying done. I checked my email at 9:42 AM. Why did I remember the exact time? I remember the exact time because I received an email from my professor. It went like this: "*real name withheld due to many reasons* We are currently taking our exam from 9-11 AM in our classroom." Holy Shitcicles Batman! I felt as if I was experiencing a nightmare. I had never felt so shocked in my life. My heart started to pound very fast, and it seemed to completely stop randomly. The act of breathing which once was a mere reflex, suddenly became an arduous task.  After the initial shock, I emailed my professor back and told him that I had 1-3 PM written down in my notebook, because that's what I was told on the last day of class, and if there would be enough time for me to finish the exam.
     I had no time to see if he had replied. I threw on whatever and rushed to campus. The trip was excruciatingly slow as my heart continued to have palpitations.  When I arrived to the classroom I had explained my reasoning for being too late. The snickering of my classmates could be heard in the background. I don't blame them. I would have done the same. I was handed the exam. When I found out it was 10 pages long and I had only 45 minutes to finish it, more panic set in, but I said fuck it. I do not have time for emotions to further hinder my ability to finish the exam. I had a feeling come over that reminded me that I had been through worse in life and have come out on top.
     The exam was a blur. Adrenaline and muscle memory took over. I had easily forgotten about the mishap on my part and got lost in academics, no geek. I ended up finishing the exam at 11:03 AM. I turned it in but I was still shook by what could have happened. My professor was very kind to send me an email reminding me of the exam. Without that I would have been screwed, so I sincerely thank him. It was something he did not have to do. Moral of the story: life will mess with you unexpectedly. You can either curl up into a ball and blame circumstance or others for your downfalls, or you can take personal responsibility for your actions and choices, and overcome them by sheer courage. By the way, I did really well on the exam in case you were wondering. I am Baliwala. Stray away from fear, laugh in the face of intimidation, breakthrough mediocrity, and most of all, never sell yourself short. That is all.