The last few months have been consumed by studying for the Praxis, planning therapy sessions, and attempting to maintain a healthy wake/eat/sleep schedule. Two out of those three things were more successful than the other. It has been a whirlwind since the holidays prepping for the next major steps that stand between me and graduation. There are not that many things I hate, but next to being cold, studying comes in as a close second. I never feel like it is over, nor do I feel like I could possibly cover everything I had to know. Part of my studying process was reading blogs about how other people approached tackling the Praxis. You may call it procrastination; I call it research. In all honesty, some really freaked me out, while others reinforced my lax approach. I did not have an intense study plan with a color-coded schedule and strict times set aside dedicated to studying. I did not buy any of the Praxis study books that cost twice as much as the exam itself or take any practice tests. I felt good about my decision to just study when it was convenient. It came down to the week of my exam. I told myself I would review the three areas I was dreading most just to have it fresh in my mind. Well, life happened. I got busy, did not feel that great, and was trying to stay distracted from the concept of Murphy’s Law surrounding the test. I never got around to reviewing those few areas, and I never looked at any of my notes in the week leading up to my test day. The morning of my exam came, and I was feeling surprisingly relaxed. I went to my internship as usual. There was a planned pep assembly, and in my head, I pretended that all the cheering and school spirit was just for me. Cheesy, I know, but it worked. As soon as the busses pulled out and the halls of the school were empty, it started to hit me that I was about to take the one exam that will allow me to become an SLP. The goal was obviously to pass. All I had hoped for was to see at least 162 on the score page at the end of the test. I hunkered down, ready for the long haul of the two-and-a-half hours allotment. I took to my usual testing pose of my left hand on chin, eyebrow raised, head titled, and my right hand on the mouse. It was an out of body experience. At one point around the 80s-90s of the 132 questions, I had realized I had completely zoned out and answered questions in auto-pilot mode. Who knows how many questions went by before I realized what was happening? In that moment, I felt confident that I knew this material because clicking the bubbles was a gut reaction without contemplation. After only an hour-and-a-half, all 132 questions had been answered, and I clicked the report scores button on the screen. In a flash of the screen, I saw a number greater than the minimum and took one huge sigh of relief before gathering myself to walk out of the room with my head held high. February 14th will forever be a red-letter day in my book from here on out (pun intended). My parents were probably waiting by the phone the entire time I was gone because when I called to let them know my results, the phone barely rang before I heard them both pick up and ask, “and???” From there, the plans to get a Valentine’s Day celebration dinner in motion were set. It also called for a dessert before dinner kind of celebration with my best friend before heading to the family celebration. Just as we had done when she passed the NCLEX, we had to make a froyo run when I passed the Praxis. And let me say, froyo never tasted so good! My road to passing the Praxis was probably not the traditional way one might prepare. Mine consisted of sporadic study sessions, two bags of M&Ms, and three bags of Hershey Kisses. It worked for me, and if I had to do it again, I would not change how I did it. But, thank God, I never have to take another exam like this ever again. I woke up the next day feeling like the day before was a dream. The only thing left to do was to say, “Alexa, play Celebration.” And just like on Grey’s Anatomy, I had to dance it out to celebrate. Stay Curious, Kayla ©Inquisitive Perspectives 2020
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