In high school, we all are expected to take the ACT or the SAT. Some students take these tests multiple times before they get their desired score. I can relate to this situation as I have never excelled at a standardized test.

I thought I was prepared for this test, but in reality, I could have prepared a lot more than I thought I did. As you just sit there staring at a mathematical problem, chart, or article trying to answer the questions, you find yourself starting to have doubts about how you are going to do. Anxiety sinks in and you feel so rushed. Every time you try to answer a question it feels as if you just wasted time that could've been used on another question.

Now there are only 10 minutes left and you only answered a handful questions. Now you have to decide whether you want to start guessing or look for the questions you know the answer too.

All of a sudden, the test is over and all you can do is go home and wait for the test results (at least that's what I did). When I got the phone call from my mom telling me my ACT scores were in the mail, my anxiety quickly set in until I got home. I opened the results and I instantly was disappointed in myself and I felt like I would never succeed in anything I wanted to do.

These results are supposed to give you your destiny for the next four years. My GPA was great but still, I felt as if I wasn't smart anymore, especially hearing my friends talk about how well they did on the test. You start to let these test scores define you and the type of student you are.

After a while, you will come to a realization that as long as you try your best, it doesn't matter if your best friend got a higher score than you or if you are in the lower percent range of test scores like I was. Honestly, it doesn't matter. Everything happens for a reason and I learned life will fall into place and this test score will take you to wherever you are supposed to be.

As you approach your first semester as a freshman in college, you will keep those test scores in the back of your mind and you might feel as if you won't do well at college. You will be nervous that the classes will be too hard and you will probably wonder if those test scores were proving something. Proving that you really aren't smart enough.

Even though you stressed over getting a below average score and you thought you were not good enough for a four-year university or tech college, if you have the willpower and determination to do well, you will.

After seeing those amazing grades at the end of the semester, you have the opportunity to make the deans list and you could be invited to join the National Honor Society at your university. After accomplishing these things, those test scores will no longer mean as much as they once did.

You will study countless hours, you will stay up all night doing homework, and you will have plenty of mental breakdowns. But when you finally ace that exam, everything you have worked so hard for has finally started to pay off. You just proved to yourself that with dedication and hard work, you are smarter than you once thought.

Don't get me wrong, you won't ace every exam you take but that's completely okay. You are capable of being an outstanding student and you will start to feel confident enough to believe in yourself again.

I got an 18 on the ACT my first time. Then a 17 on the second try. I was never good at standardized testing and I never will be. Last semester, I made the Deans List, got invited to join the National Honor Society here at UW-Milwaukee, and I am now taking courses affiliated with my major.

I thought I wasn't going to do well in college because that test score was constantly in my head. Now being in the second semester, the only thing that matters is my college GPA. My ACT score no longer can define me. As long as you push yourself to achieve your academic goals, you will succeed.

To anyone that was or is in the same situation as I was, never let anyone or any score tell you that you are not good enough. You will always be good enough. Just because you don't do as well on a standardized test does not mean you will fail in college or whatever you decide to do in life. Just keep pushing yourself and don't let a test score define how amazing of a person you are.

You are so much more than just a score on a test.