I almost peed myself during my final
Before I stepped into IRC2 (MATH152), I had a lingering feeling of despair. With 2 hours of sleep in the previous night, I had been awake for just 3 hours before my noon final (2hr30min). Swaying back and forth, I proceeded to down a monster before leaving my dorm, hoping that it would keep me awake and alert.
As I took my seat and saw the closed exam booklet, I became extremely nauseous. The monster was really hitting.
Throughout the first hour and a half, I was in my prime. I was slowly rehydrating myself with water as I was worked through questions. However, I was not working as fast as I hoped and realized that I would need to speed up in order to not run out of time. I could not afford a washroom break.
At around the 1hr40min mark, my stomach started to gurgle. I took a deep breath and tried to ignore the sensations bubbling down below. I was still behind and needed all the time there was.
It was at 1hr55min when it hit. In the span of a moment, I desperately needed to go. I frantically looked around for a TA and requested to go to the washroom. The answer was not one I wanted to hear. "There's someone in the washroom right now but you can go after".
Concerned, I pointed out the fact that the period for leaving the exam hall was almost over and I could NOT last until the end. Reassuringly, she said, "Don't worry, you'll go to the washroom". No hesitation. Nothing but pure confidence. It wasn't a "I'll take a look". It was a "You WILL go."
Relieved, I continued to work through the test as I noticed that other students left to go to the washroom--moving the line and pushing me towards the front of the queue. As each student went, my need to go increased exponentially.
At the 2hr10min mark, I was still waiting when I heard what I dreaded, the announcement that no students were to leave the room. I looked desperately for the TA for the hope that an exception could be made. She repeated what the instructor said.
I had put everything on the line and lost it all. She betrayed me.
By now, I had adopted the cross-legged position, adopting NURS180 breathing strategies to hold it in. Biting my spare pencil, I slowly worked through the remaining questions. However, my mind was somewhere else and my body desperately wished to follow.
I handed in the final with the last two questions blank and sprinted to the washroom.
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TL;DR The one person at the washroom at a time policy caused me to almost pee my pants