STAAR testing is coming Tuesday the 22nd of March, and Thursday, the 24th. As a senior, I find this information irrelevant, with the exception that I have senior late arrival. Otherwise, STAAR is a thing of my past, something that has diminished from my sights, and gives no spark to my mind. Yet today at lunch, an informative discussion between my table was brought up that shone a problem of the STAAR testing, or any test that requires food and beverage and lots of waiting. It’s a struggle that one has to solve for themselves, that takes in-depth speculation in a stressful environment. The teachers prepare us for the test, but what happens in between and what happens after- that’s the dilemma.

First it’s the intermission. The water bottle, the goldfish, opening the water, eating the goldfish- I know it sounds simple, but when you actually think about it, these are the questions that arise: When should I open my goldfish? Am I too distracting? Why is the crunching so loud? Can they hear me when I eat?

These questions can be harder than the actual test, because no one will know what you got on the test, that’s up to your own discretion, but they will remember if you were the one who chewed obnoxiously loud, or that had broken the silence with the crunching of your water bottle every other minute.

More importantly, the thing that matters to those who don’t care what others think, there’s something even worse that’s waiting for you. It’s unavoidable, perhaps some with inerrant skill can accomplish, but to those who are self conscious about eating, this is truly problematic. It’s called the after test. How to quell one’s boredom that doesn’t include sleep (of which puts one at risk of snoring).

Here are some suggestions that were brought to the table:

Wait out the first hour before opening the food. That way you don’t eat it too fast, and you still are able to open it while being socially acceptable. Opening at the end of the test makes you the target of envy and irritation.

Also with the food, don’t drink all the water before you open the goldfish, the saltiness of the cracker will make you thirst for the water. And if you have to go to the bathroom just for water, the people in line after you will definitely not be supporting your luck on the test.

And simple solution to crunchiness; eat with your mouth closed. And what you can even do is let it rest in your mouth until it gets soggy, that takes all the crunch away.

A fun fast time is to desk watch. It’s sort of like cloud watching, but instead of clouds you are coming up with pictures from the grain of the wood.

Grow your hair out and braid it. For this activity you do need to come prepared with hair holders, but this allows you to get complicated with the designs and have endless fun.

Of course there are several other activities you can participate in, like trying to read your own palm, counting the cracks in the ceiling, time how long it takes the average person to come back from the bathroom- and really the possibilities are endless. There’s just one thing you DON’T want to do: do not look at the clock. It will make you depressed and temporarily forget all the previous fun you had. But other than that enjoy, and we hope you have a good after test!