The Test

I took my big test today so that I can add "administrator" to my credential here in the great state of Texas. I studied for 2 solid months, but the study materials were very limited. I took the practice test and only missed one question. I looked over my old university materials. I read through some books that were suggested to help. I even isolated myself last night to do some last minute studying and de-stress myself at a 4-star hotel in Las Colinas (my test was in Coppell, and I highly recommend the Omni Mandalay Hotel). We had to check in at 7:30 and sit through a power point warning about cell phones and pagers in the Coppell High School auditorium, where we were also warned to sharpen our pencils before heading to our room. Finally, we were given our respective testing rooms and headed that way. Once in the room, I quickly found my seat. There was a younger girl sitting behind me who was very sweet, but it was obvious that she was nervous about her ESL test. I talked to her a bit and calmed her down, and I was feeling so confident going into the test. Yet when I opened my blue test booklet, Letter Code A, the first three questions made my head hurt! Was killing myself getting my master's degree in one year a mistake? Did I learn anything? Maybe there's a reason that most people finish in two years. I tried hard not to let the panic set in. Thank GOD for question number 4. Old NES threw me a bone! So they gave us 5 hours for the test, and I didn't rush through at all. Yet I finished in 2.5 hours, which has made me nervous about maybe finishing too fast. I am an incredibly fast reader (fact not brag), so I'm hoping that was the reason. The poor woman in front of me was taking the same test, and after about an hour, I noticed her shoulders start to shake. She raised her hand to go to the restroom, and when she returned she had red, swollen eyes. That made me even more concerned that maybe I was a bit overconfident. I mean, if the test was making grown women cry, shouldn't I be raising my hand to visit the ladies? I had about 1.5 hours on the ride home (double what it should take) through freezing rain with idiots who think they are are on the NASCAR circuit to analyze and over analyze my performance. My conclusion at this time: I probably passed but it could be close. I can find out online on March 1oth. So if you run into me, and I have the crazy eyes, you'll know why.

Thanks to all of you who sent me good vibes and called to check on me today. You guys are the best!