I’m done! Well, with this semester, at least. I took my exit HESI this morning. I didn’t exactly kill it, but it didn’t kill me either. So, that’s good, right? 🤷🏻‍♀️ As things stood, I needed to achieve 29% or like a 319 on the HESI to pass the course. I did no other calculations. 😬 I just needed to know the minimum necessary to pass. I had that super fixated tunnel vision you guys know and love about me. 👀 It never even occurred to me that I could or should score much above 320 or so. #AimHighKids 😝

I actually pleasantly surprised myself. I didn’t ace it, but I made a decent 889, which equated to a 79, making my final grade for Basic Care of the Adult a solid B. 🥳 So, if you just wanted to know how I did, there you go. 🤗 If you’re craving a few more details about my experience, have a seat and read on.

It’s 2020, so of course, things at the test site started off a little sketchy and intense. 🙈 There were issues with internet connectivity, the testing password presented its own unique set of challenges, and tensions ran high for student and instructor alike, as we tried to figure out how to access the clandestine program that cloaked the key to our future. #NoPressure 🥺

We finally got in and began our assessments. And that’s when I {and a lot of my friends} suddenly realized that none of the practice exams or adaptive quizzes had been any 👏🏻 help 👏🏻 whatsoever. 👏🏻 There I was again. Taking another exam, for which I had worked incredibly hard to prepare, yet the questions and my review were on totally different planets. 😱

Other people had mentioned when we got there that the room was a little warm. I couldn’t relate. 👎🏻 My whole body suddenly felt cold and numb. I immediately KNEW I was doomed to repeat this course next semester. My goal of 29% had seemed so effortlessly attainable yesterday. But now, I was wondering if I would get a single answer right. 😢 I was deep in my own head, {a dark, dangerous place} desperately trying to decide how I would explain to everyone that, despite their support and belief in me, I was an utter failure. 😢

But then, I told myself to snap out of it and get my 💩 together. {I really need to hire someone to follow me around and smack me when I start spiraling like this. Like an emotional support slapper. I wonder if that would be covered by my insurance. 🤔} Anyhoo, I stopped panicking and reminded myself that even though this test did not cover the things I had recently reviewed, it DID cover things I had learned this semester. The questions were new and unusual, but if I took my time reading them, there was a strong possibility that I might be able to choose the correct answers and live happily ever after. 😌

My little internal pep talk helped, but I still have so many questions. How does this keep happening? How can they ALWAYS find so many new and unusual questions I never consider? Where do they come up with this stuff? Who are these writers? How might one become one of these writers? Could an amateur blog dripping with sarcasm and emojis be considered a portfolio? Are they hiring? 😂

On a loosely related note, I’d like to file a complaint.☝🏻 Because on some of these questions, ALL of the answers are obviously correct. 🤓 I’m fairly certain there must be a ‘D.) All of the Above’ answer hidden from me somewhere on my screen. 🤨 So, if someone could get me a computer programmer to address that before next semester, that’d be great. 😒

In any event, I passed my first semester of nursing school with a B in BCA, a B in Fundamentals, and an A in Pharmacology.🎉🎈🎊 Level 1 ✅ On to level 2. 👩🏻‍⚕️