State Boards

My state boards for becoming a Registered Veterinary Technician (RVT) have come and gone. As most of you know, they were held this past Friday (yesterday). I took half a day off on Thursday so mom and I could venture down to Columbus, stay the night, then start out bright and early Friday morning. I knew everyone knew they were coming, but hoped to keep the date a secret given that if I don't pass, I don't have to feel embarrassed. Ah well.

I have been studying for the past 3 months with hardcore studying this past month. I've got a pretty decent memory, so I studied through repetition, which has helped me in the past. I do feel that my studying helped, but as always I tend to study the harder items and overlook the easier aspects. I always think the questions will be more advanced, but they never are. When will I learn? I even memorized an entire chart of metric calculations. I had a plan to write it down immediately upon starting the test. I did as planned, but do you think I needed even one piece of that information? No. Then a basic question in regards to an everyday disease came up and asked, "Is this caused by a virus or bacteria?" I couldn't remember the answer. WTF?

Everyone keeps asking, "Well? What do you think? Do you think you passed?" I have no answer to it. Mostly, I'm just indifferent. I do have a sense of confidence in my answers I chose, but I don't have an overwhelming sense of confidence either. However, I never do, no matter what the circumstances. I did remember approximately 20 questions, that stuck out to me, that I wasn't 100% sure on my answer, and researched them upon arriving home. Thankfully I got most of them right, that I can remember.

I believe using the peppermints with peppermint oil did "open my senses" and helped relieve my mental pressure. That along with keeping my chapstick handy assisted me in keeping a balance that I had hoped for. I also kept my normal morning routine and food/water intake. I know, it sounds crazy, but the more "normal" I feel, the better things go. Unfortunately by the time the test had finished my head was pounding. I don't know if I can attribute that to thinking hard, stress, the warmth in the room (it was almost too warm, but I preferred it being warm and not cold), or sucking on the peppermints. The headache continued through the night. I woke up better this morning, but the headache has reared it's ugly head. Hopefully it will go away soon.

I was hoping to have a sense of relief after taking the test, but that hasn't hit me yet. It probably won't until I find out "yes or no" in 7-8 weeks. I'm hoping for the best, but understand that if I don't pass there's always other chances. The only thing is, I'm not sure how much more preparation I could do if that's the case. Here's to having patience and hoping for the best in the coming 7-8 weeks.

P.S. On an awesome note, I received a text from Sita the morning of my examination saying that she passed her state boards, taken in November, for massage therapy! Woot! So proud of her.