QAK

Last week, I completed my third semester of college. To be honest, this was probably the most academically challenging semester I've had, but it was also the most rewarding. I finished finals week with a bang, and I thoroughly enjoyed spending time with close friends, doing well on my exams, and eating good food.
Even though exam week was amazing, I will only describe one particular aspect of it in this post: The Quantitative Analysis in Kinesiology Final Exam.

Quantitative Analysis in Kinesiology 

In order to describe the final exam, I must first describe the class. Quantitative Analysis in Kinesiology (or QAK) is an Exercise Science Statistics and Research class. In the class cataloge, it is label EX451 (aka "pretty tough"). I am very thankful that God blessed me with enough time to study and the desire to learn the material given to me (and for an amazing professor). 

I loved coming to class, because I knew we would learn things hands-on. The professor would have us, his students, administer different tests on each other, work on Microsoft Excel, and discuss the material. Throughout the semester, our tests would be broken up into two parts. One part would be multiple-choice questions, and the other would be completed on a Microsoft Excel sheet. The tests were so much fun.

 Sometimes the information that the professor would give us was very confusing. So, I would go to the college's Teaching and Learning Center, study the information for a few minutes each day, and a few classes later I would understand the information completely. 

My grades reflected the effort I put into the class. I was very happy that I understood what the professor was teaching. I felt like a scientist. I knew I would have a blast taking the final exam.

The Quantitative Analysis in Kinesiology Final Exam

I strolled into the classroom around five minutes before we were supposed to take our final exam (There were 10 people in the class, sorry I forgot to explain earlier). I was disappointed to see so many distraught faces. My friends were saying things like " Dr. -- said the exam was going to be super hard!" or "Dr. -- said that he was going to curve our tests, " and "I am going to fail." These statements made be began to worry. 

Finally, Dr.-- came into our classroom and told us that we would have to move to a bigger room. Once he got there, he explained how hard the test would be and how no one would probably do great. He explained the curve he planned to use. He would use the highest test grade and subtract it from 100. He would then add the results of the equation to everyone's test. He also said that we should hope that none of the high-scorers in the class make a too-high test grade.

I was hurt. Dr.-- did not believe that we could do well on the exam. That shook and kind of distracted me. When I finally accessed the computer test, I was so nervous I could barely read the first question (which was a relatively easy one). I had to calm down!

To be honest, the exam was really hard. I second-guessed myself on some questions, and I had to dig deep into my memory to get the answer to a lot of the questions. To make matters worse, I was afraid that if I did well on the exam, I would ruin the curve for everyone else. It was a terrible experience. If I wasn't worried about the curve, I would have enjoyed the exam. 

When I finally decided to finish, I thought that I had made an 80 or so. Probably not anything above a 90. I clicked "Finish" at the bottom of the online exam page, and waited for my grade. I almost cried when I saw a 94. 

After a few seconds of staring at the computer, I finally got up and walked towards the door. Dr.-- called me and a couple of other guys over so he could tell us what score we got (we already knew, but I did not mind). When he pulled up my score, he was shocked. After a few seconds of shock, he gave me a fist bump and announced that the curve was currently six points. 

I walked away from the class pleased that I had shocked Dr.--. 

Why did I post this story? I posted this story to show that just because everyone else says that they are going to fail doesn't mean that you're going to fail. As I stated at the beginning of this posts, God gave me enough time to study and He gave me the desire to learn the material. 1 Corinthians 10:31 says "Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God (KJV)." I performed in QAK class to the best of my ability, showing that I was trying my best to use my God-given passion for research. When you pursue your God-given passion, it doesn't matter what others say about your situation. God is in control.

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