By Jessica Rowe

Copyright theage

My heart beats like I’ve already had three giant vanilla-flavoured coffees. Why is my chest tightening? Have I forgotten to take off my ill-fitting, padded underwire bra? Tears start smudging my clumpy mascara. I’m short of breath. Have I been running? Wait, I don’t run. Where is this panic coming from?

Then I work out why I’m overwhelmed. I’ve just realised that today is the deadline to hand in my HSC artwork. But why has no one told me? How did I miss this very important date, one I’ve been working towards for my whole life?

This panicked nightmare has recurred throughout my life adult life. At 55, I’m still time-travelling back to my acne-covered teens. Sure, I know other people’s dreams/nightmares are boring to hear about, but the HSC nightmare is so common it’s worth sharing.

You see, I’m far from the only person with exam flashbacks. There’s a good chance you’ve had them, too, because of the muscle memory of anxiety that looms over final exams, this absurd system we still subject our young people to. It’s as outdated as the microwave-sized computers my friends and I used in my high school’s “computer lab”.