It’s funny how dreams work, isn’t it?I recently had this crazy dream that I received a zero on the final exam for my statistics 2301 class, the last of the seven courses needed to get into the Cox School of Business. It happened in a big lecture class and the professor was handing back all the exams. I first got a test that I did fairly well on, but quickly realized it wasn’t mine. I handed the test back to its rightful owner, and as my test was coming down the row everyone looked at me and said, “Oh, nice try Allison. You’ll do better next time,” and “It’s ok, Allison. Hang in there.” Not understanding why they were giving me all these sentimental gestures, I was very confused. When I finally had my test in my hands, I slowly opened up the folded piece of paper to find a zero written at the top of it. I couldn’t believe it. There were red marks everywhere, front to back, top to bottom, all over it. Not having a clue what to do, I immediately started to sob right there in front of my eighty peers. I sobbed and I sobbed, not even bothering to look over my mistakes. I sobbed more as the class got up to eat lunch at the buffet provided by the professor.Finally, after about two hours of non-stop crying, my professor came up to me and said, “Allison, here is your real exam. You did very well, congratulations and welcome to the Cox School of Business.” I was shocked and in complete disbelief. Disbelief that I didn’t get a zero after all, and disbelief that my entire class of eighty students played a trick on me, knowing that I would break down and cry. I was very irritated at my class and professor, but tried not to show it, as it was the last day of class and we were all celebrating the end of the semester. When I awoke from my dream, I sat there for several minutes thinking to myself, “Wow, that was the worst dream I have ever had.”I am currently trying to get into the Cox School of Business, with only one more course to go. I have calculated that I only need about a D in this course in order to be accepted. I told my mother I am not too worried and I’m not going to work my butt off for a decent grade. However, this nightmare made me realize that anything could happen. I could get a zero on my final exam, which would completely destroy any chance of my getting into the Cox.Moral of the story: study for your tests, come prepared to class, and, not to mention, go to class! Don’t let stress get in the way of all your hard work. And when it does, go outside for a quick jog to cool off some steam. Make time in your schedule to do anything that helps you alleviate that stress because it only brings you down. Above all, work hard in everything you do because when you least expect it, the worst could happen to you.

Allison Cooley is a sophomore accounting major. She can be reached for comment as [email protected]