A tale about the procrastinating girl, her chocolate milk, and the great NCLEX god...

Hello everyone. I have been reading everyone else's stories and experiences and decided to share mine as well.

Throughout my nursing school experience I have always done well, however I was a horrible procrastinator, especially when it came to papers (which probably explains why I've put off writing this for 3 days). My procrastination seemed to hit its peak in my senior year; I pretty much lived on adrenalin. By the time I graduated I was completely unmotivated to study and pretty much waited till I received my ATT to begin studying (not something I would encourage). I then set up my date for the 25^th; that gave me about 3.5 weeks.

On my NCLEX eve I went to the city where my exam was to be held and found the testing center. Once I had found it, I sat there for a moment. I could feel the tension from where I sat. It was a little after 2, I knew that there were nervous test takers inside beginning their exams. I left from there and spent the rest of my day with a very good nursing school friend who had already passed the exam. She kept me well distracted and encouraged.

I went to bed that night a nervous wreck; I tried everything to get to sleep, even Zquil. NOTHING worked! I got a grand total of two hours of sleep that night. When my two set alarms clocks went off (something I learned from clinical when the electricity went out one night) I got up, got dressed, grabbed my chocolate milk from the fridge (my secret weapon for passing the HESIs) and off I went. I blasted my radio the whole way (nothing like rocking out to Skillet to get you awake and pumped!).

I arrived and was soon seated at my computer. I breathed a quick prayer for clarity and to keep my chocolate milk down, and then I began. I kept watching my time; I was worried I would be there for the entire test and that I would run out of time. I read every question and answer 3 times, and made a little defense as to why I thought I was right in picking my answers. I kept getting one SATA after another.

Then after an hour and 20 minutes I looked up, I had finally reached the 75^th question, I freaked inside. I prayed to the great NCLEX god that this would be it. I begged for it to be the last question; and then with a click "poof" my screen turned blue. I then prayed to the great NCLEX god again to BRING IT BACK! I second guessed every answer I had submitted and wanted another chance to rectify my wrong doings. But the great NCLEX god decides your fate, and having decided, moves on!

I left the testing center and drove to the nearest Starbucks. I decided to sit in my car to see what predictions the great Pearson Vue genie had for me (a wise decision on my part). I nervously filled out the information, my hands shaking; my heart about to leap out of my mouth, and with a click "poof" there was the good pop up! I was shacking I was crying so hard, all the emotions from that last 4 years had come bubbling up to the surface! All that hard work had finally come to an end! Unbeknownst to me someone had pulled up next to me in the parking lot and was getting out of their car just as I was having my melt down. Realizing there was now another human life form I bowed my head and thought "don't make eye contact, don't make eye contact, just keep walking dude, just keep walking!".

I had never felt so many emotions at ounce in my life. I wanted to laugh, I wanted to cry, I wanted to scream, I wanted to throw up! I spent the rest of the day vacillating between feeling like I had passed, and then like I had failed. I could not sleep for yet another night, and then when the sun began to rise I popped onto my states BON and sure enough my license # was there!

I want to close in saying that everyone's NCLEX experience is different and to not compare yourself to others. You made it through years of nursing school. You know what is necessary to get you to your goals. You just have to make that decision to do it! You have all made it this far. You've got this!