of or relating to fear

i have to take the GRE in about four weeks. well, to be honest, i haven't signed up for it yet, but my goal is to take it in four weeks, before school starts again for the fall. can't say as i'm looking forward to it though, but i can't really pinpoint why. i am very excited about graduate school, moving to a new city (poop to grand rapids for not having a Ph.d program in chemistry), and immersing myself in research for five or six years (hopefully five). the problem is, i'm really scared about it too. there is so much riding on two tests, both before you apply, and after you get there. that's a lot of pressure. i'm sure i'll do fine, my grades thus far indicate that i do know my chemistry, and i've got something like 400 hours of research to my name (pretty decent for an undergrad not yet to his senior year).

i guess i'm just cringing at having to study for a test so far in advance. why in the world the test makers think that knowing "defenestration" [the act of throwing someone or something out a window] is a word that graduating seniors should be tested on is beyond me. fortunately, the math is pretty easy, but after differential equations, algebra 1 better be!

i suppose my fear of the unknown isn't healthy. but at the same time, knowing ahead of time that what you're about to do is no picnic, and working really, really hard is the only way to make it through can be a good thing.