I’ve been thinking a lot lately about what it’s like to be one of those online exam takers not just someone clicking through questions, but a person trying to create a calm corner of their world for a few hours, battling the mind’s “what-ifs” and the internet’s little betrayal when the connection hiccups. The first time I logged into my exam, my stomach was twisting like I was about to perform on stage, even though there was no physical audience. I set up my laptop, cleared my desk, made sure nothing distracting was in sight but inside, my head whispered: what if something goes wrong? As I moved through the questions, there were moments of confidence and moments of doubt, and I found myself pausing, taking a deep breath, reminding myself that I knew this material, that I’d prepared. There was a strange kind of comfort in seeing the timer ticking: not because I loved the pressure, but because it reminded me that this was real, and I was here, doing it. When I finally clicked “submit,” I felt this wave of relief not just for finishing, but for showing up, for being one of the many online exam takers trying their best in a new, sometimes unpredictable test world.