The most agonizing 3 days

Taking the NCLEX has got to be one of the most traumatizing experiences ever. Granted, I can be pretty melodramatic sometimes, but this exam really got the best of me. I had been studying and doING practice questions on repeat since graduation. I was still scoring in the 60-70% range. There was just too much information and too little time! My emotions were going crazy. One minute I was thinking, shoo I got this... I was educated at one of the best schools on the east coast. No CNL has ever failed before... Then one minute later, I went to the dark side... omg what if I fail? I can't do this. I suck at exam taking! My life will be over if I fail! Yes, this was the yo-yo whirlwind I was going thru for a good two weeks before the exam.

So the big day comes. Of course, my face has completely broken out in blemishes and I couldn't sleep for the life of me. As I was standing there waiting with the other students, I could feel my heart pumping out of my chest. OMG, this is really it. After being finger printed, palm scanned, picture taken, and security checked I sat down and began the exam. First question... hey this isn't so bad. Second question... wtf? And so went the rest of the exam; I guessed on about all of them. When I got up to 60 questions, I just kept thinking please shut off at 75, I'm tired of this. (You can get anywhere from 75-265 questions). Well, the machine cut me off at 76 questions. As soon as the screen went blue and said, "thank you, your exam is now complete", all I could think about was how badly I had just failed.

So the next 2 days were spent in prayer as I waited for my results. While at work, I decided to check the Maryland Board of Nursing website and look up my name. Lo and behold, there was my name with a license number after it. I just about fell out of my chair. I had just passed the NCLEX!!! I am now officially a Registered Nurse!!

Words really can't express how happy and relieved I am. Now I can spend the next month relaxing, chilling with my friends and family, working out, packing, looking for a place to live, and getting ready for ODS and my career as a Navy Nurse. Woo hoo!!!

Our nation's awesome capitol

It's always been kinda sad how much we take living so close to DC for granted. It's such a wonderful place with tons of things to do and explore! I know I've always felt this way but I think it's hitting me harder now that I'm actually moving away from it!

We had some guests visiting from South Carolina this weekend so we took advantage of the opportunity and took them to explore DC. I was excited because we got to go to the spy museum! I had heard a lot of great things about it but never really had the opportunity to go explore it. Unfortunately, they didn't let us take any pictures inside so I don't have any to share here. The museum was bigger than I thought it would be and there were a lot of cool things inside. I would highly recommend it, just make sure you have a lot of time to spend since there's lots of reading and exploring to do! Next time I want to try one of the missions where you're a spy and they give you a task to complete. I always wondered what it'd be like to be a spy...

After the museum, we went to see a bunch of monuments... the Washington Monument, WWII Memorial, Reflecting Pool, Lincoln, Vietnam Memorial, Iwo Jima/Marine Corps Memorial, and the Roosevelt Memorial. LOTS! Let's just say my legs were ready to fall off by the end of the day. lol. Here are some pictures.


The US Capitol! Too bad we didn't have time to go here.


Taken at the WWII Memorial. Go Navy!



WWII Memorial, really liked how this pic turned out, well except for the pipes and dried up pool. haha but the background colors are nice.


Taken at the top of the steps to the Lincoln Memorial.


Iwo Jima/Marine Corps Memorial. This thing is massssive! Really awesome, it strikes a cord in me. Represents freedom and what we're fighting for!

I still have quite a lot more to explore, til next time DC!!!



*For some reason, the pics came out extremely small... don't know how to make them bigger so just click on them to get the bigger version. Really do love how these pics turned out*

At the risk of revealing too much...

So I decided to jump on "the boat" and create a blog, not something I would normally ever do... But I've been following all of your guys' posts for a while and I love when there are updates and new stories to read. So at the risk of revealing too much, here goes nothing!


On current repeat: Michael Buble- Haven't Met You Yet. Love the song and video!