Calm:

I woke up the morning of my huge math final feeling the best I ever had. I got up out of my bed and strolled over to my dresser. I took the clothes I was going to wear that day out, and peacefully made my way to the bathroom. I got into the shower and the hot, steaming water filled every part of the room as if I were relaxing in a sauna. I mentally went over what I had studied the night before. I was so prepared for this test; I couldn’t wait another minute to take it. As I stood in the shower, I let my body soak in the heat and I felt every muscle in my body release whatever tension it had holding within itself. After completing my shower, I stepped out of the bathroom feeling psychologically and physically rejuvenated and ready to face my test first thing at school. I ate breakfast slowly, to be sure to savor every flavor that burst across my tongue and ignited my mouth with a feeling of happiness and joy. At the conclusion of my meal, I gathered my things for the day and headed out the door where my dad was waiting to take me to school. I hopped in the car and sat down in the passenger seat, letting all of my emotions just sink into the cushion of the seat. As we drove to school the radio was playing and it seemed like every single one of my favorite songs played. I rolled down the window to stick my head out and get a better view of the magnificent colors arching across the sky glorifying the sunrise. I felt the air rushing through my hair and I heard the tweeting of the songbirds making the sounds of their chorus in the trees above. Everything at this moment was perfect and I just could not wait any longer to take my test.

As I walked into school, I headed straight for my 1st period class. Nothing around me mattered, it felt like the weight of two mountains of stress had been lifted off of my shoulders and the consequences of the test were in my hands and within my reach. Nothing at all could go wrong at this moment. I walked into the classroom and took my usual seat at the front of the class where I could see the board most easily. Other students began to file in looking as nervous as possible. I just gazed their way and smiled because I knew that there was nothing to worry about at all. I knew the material so well that I could have gotten an A+ on any test in my sleep. Finally, the teacher walked in. I greeted her kindly and she responded quirkily. I knew she could tell that I was more than ready. As soon as the clock struck 7:30am, she closed the door shut, and got our attention. She explained the format of the test and that we would have one and a half hours to complete the test. I sat back in my chair and relaxed my mind as she worked her way from the back of the classroom up handing out tests. Once she put one down on my desk I sat ready, pencil in hand and calculator on desk. As soon as she told us to begin, I flipped my test over and started taking the test without a worry in the world.

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Frantic:

I flipped over my test and made sure to write my name down first. Before I started the first question, I took my time to look at each question on the test. There were a total of 30 questions, there was plenty of time to finish. Then, with a sinking feeling in my stomach, I looked at the first question. I realized with panic that I hadn’t the slightest idea how to solve it. Then, I began to flip through the rest of the test. I looked at each problem twice and with tears in my eyes and a sick stomach, I found that I had studied the wrong information. I looked rapidly at everyone else in the room already past the first couple of problems and I knew that I had to do my best to finish the test in time. I wasn’t sure if it was possible, but I knew it had to be done. I looked at the first problem once again and started writing things down. It was a diagram of lines and I had to find the measure of angle one. I used what I knew about the latest unit to try my best but ended up with nothing. I nervously looked around again at everyone and then at the clock on the wall. 20 minutes had passed and everyone else had already completed the first page of the test. I sat there, on the verge of tears, when it hit me. I knew how to solve the first problem. I wrote down my answer, and almost celebrated internally, when I realized that after 25 minutes I had done one question and still had 29 more to go.

“10 minutes left!” shouted my teacher at 9:30am. I still had 12 problems left. I was slowly but surely making my way through the test trying to come up with an answer. I was doing my best not to panic but I knew I really didn’t have enough time to finish. Another glance around the room told me that people were already checking their work. At this point I had no choice but to rush and finish what I could in the next 10 minutes. I fought through the urge to run out of the class and throw up in the bathroom. I rushed and rushed through each problem in scrawling handwriting covering the pages. “5 minutes to go!” my teacher exclaimed. With 5 questions to go, I had to go at insane speed to just finish all the questions, not to mention checking my work.

As I awaken from my deep sleep, I find myself laying in not my bed, but in a field of tall, lush grass. I jump up abruptly as I feel the prickly itch of my grass allergy set in on my leg. As I stand in the field, I take in my greater surroundings slowly. The first thing that hits me is the sweet smell like cotton candy that fills my nose and lungs. It reminds me of the state fair and the joy it brings me. The next thing that I notice is smack dab in front of me. Right in my line of view I see an enormous city with buildings reaching above the clouds. I see cars flying around in the air and people on hover boards bustling about in the lower airways. As I take this all in, I notice a grand billboard stating “Welcome to Utopia” to my right. Right in front of me I see a path of water leading into the heart of the city and decide to follow it. The buildings around me reach such great heights, that even when I strain my neck as far as I can, I cannot begin to see the top of the building. It is remarkably clean at this ground level, as well as overwhelmingly dark. The path of water I take is illuminated by bioluminescent fish that swim underneath the layer of glass that keeps me separated from the water. I continue upon the path, not knowing where else to go until I reach an elevator. This elevator reaches up into the sky, and not knowing what else to do, I step in and press up.

The elevator continues up and up for what seems like several minutes until it stops suddenly. I step out of the elevator and witness a sight unlike any other. I stare gazing at the god-like figures of the clouds that the height of this city dwarves. The rising sun illuminates the scene casting a haze of warm colors that arch across the sky. I am utterly awe struck but the moment is interrupted by a man approaching me. He repeats to me what the billboard said when I first entered this amazing city. “Welcome to Utopia.” He explains to me that in the year 2500, the human race made  architectural advances and were able to build this city that reaches into the upper troposphere. More than half of the world’s population could inhabit this place. The room I am in is unlike any other. With chairs hovering above the ground, this white-washed terrace room is the epitome of interior design. Nothing I have ever seen matches up to this place. I can see people bustling underneath me through a glass floor doing their jobs. The amount of people below us is a beyond comprehendible number of people to be in the same place. Nothing seems real, is it all just a dream?

I snap myself awake and find myself laying in my bed at home. The thought of the future Utopia still whizzing through my mind.