Why is this so difficult , is what I thought to myself as I sat in the midst of the soul-suckingingly dry atmosphere of Advanced Placement Macroeconomics. Luckily, today was fairly humid. Or was it? No, I was the only one sweating in the room. I was the only one with a sudden shortness of breath, and an incredibly rapid heartbeat, pounding as loud as the march of an approaching army, as I began to panic. The teacher was moving on, the class was leaving me in the dust. Okay, okay—think, Elliot—you’ve got this—when price increases, the demand increases too—no wait—the quantity demanded. Demand increases when — “Elliot.” A woman’s voice, quiet and calming, startled me out of my thoughts. I looked around at the faces of my peers but only got blank, uninterested stares in return. My teacher was speaking and moving on to the next topic, but he was a man. Then who? “Elliot,” the mysterious voice repeated. I frantically spun my head around, looking for any sign of who could possibly be saying my name. That’s when I saw her, my mother, standing in the back. No one else seemed to notice. She smiled at me. And I felt at ease. My heart rate and breathing returned to normal. I wiped away the sweat from my face as I turned back around, just in time to lock eyes with my teacher. “Elliot, you’ve been rather quiet today. Why don’t you answer this question?” And I answered correctly.