MY heart is pounding, my palms are sore and swollen, and the incessant ticking of my watch reminds me how little time I have left to finish my high school English exam.

But I'm not sitting alongside 200 nervous Year 12 students in my high school hall.

I'm not even in high school anymore - I graduated four years ago.

I'm sitting alone in a room at the news.com.au offices, joining (at least in spirit) the thousands of Year 12 students across the country who are currently sitting their final school exams.

No, I'm not joking. And no, it wasn't that bad.

When I told people what I was doing, they responded mostly with looks of horror, followed by pity.

Colleagues gave me sympathetic smiles. One friend simply said: "You're a masochist".

My mum gave me the same advice she gave all throughout my final year at school: "Have a good breakfast, drink lots of water and answer the question you're asked, not the question you want to answer." Cheers Mum.

Leading up to the exam, I'll admit I was pretty nervous. What if I totally bombed? I would look like a huge idiot, not only to my colleagues and friends, but also the entire internet.

I got that dreaded ball of fear in the pit of my stomach and couldn't concentrate. I just tried to forget about the whole thing. I guess even if I failed, at least it would make a good story.

But after all that, turns out the exam wasn't that bad. The questions were mostly straightforward.

And it's incredible how much information came flooding back. I could remember slabs of text from a poem I recited during an English speech. I heard the voice of my Year 12 English teacher in my head lecturing me about including techniques and quotes in each paragraph.

When I came across a particularly prickly question, I initially panicked because I couldn't answer it. With so much riding on your final exams, any obstacle can cause instant panic. Stumbling over one simple question can make you think you've screwed up your entire future.

But instead of descending into a silent meltdown, I took a deep breath, re-read the question and attacked it in a different way. Perhaps the perspective gained after finishing school - and the knowledge that your HSC doesn't dictate your future, calmed me down.

So how did I do?

I got a total score of 33/45, which translates to 73 per cent. It's not as good as my actual English results, but for one night's study since 2009 I'd say that's a pretty alright mark!

"You haven't been at school for a while ... so that's not bad," said Kirk Thomas, the teacher who marked my paper. He's the Head of English at Newtown Performing Arts High School in Sydney.

"For not being a current HSC student that was pretty impressive I thought," he said. (I was super stoked when he told me that).

Mr Thomas acknowledges that a few years out in the real world provides a new-found perspective you just don't have in high school.

"[For] 17 or 18-year-old kids, it's really challenging to be able to connect to others' lives when they've only lived short lives themselves. But they do mature, and they have to, to be able to achieve that high range response."

Year 12 is such a defining year for many of us. And although we might not use Pythogoras' Theorem or need to know what onomatopoeia is in our everyday lives, taking a trip back in time is certainly fun, says Mr Thomas.

"It takes you back to a time and a place. I think it's really ingrained in you, I really do."

Would you go back in time and do your Year 12 exams again?

Comment below or continue the conversation on Twitter: @newscomauhq | @beck_sullivan

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