nursing boards... check check.

During the two years of nursing school, everyone talked about this test.

How hard it is.

How we need to know everything.

It's a big deal.

Everything comes down to this test.

If you can't pass the test, you can't be a nurse.

My whole time through school, I kept thinking, "I'll deal with studying for it when it comes time."

I don't know if that was good, or bad. 

But it worked for me.

After my last day of school (July 9, 2014) I focused entirely on this test.

I studied every day, except Sunday, for at least two hours, if not more.

Usually up to seven or eight hours a day.

Answering question after question, and then looking each question up figuring out why the select answer was right or wrong.

It was hard.

Many days, Trav would come home from work, and I'd be in tears.

I felt depressed, unaccomplished.

I felt worthless, like I didn't know anything.

The past two years of school had been pointless.

My test scores were up and down.

I was discouraged.

Finally, after a few weeks of this, I had the feeling to go schedule my test.

I fought the urge.

My instructors told us to not schedule our test until after we answered so many questions and our test scores were above 65%.

I know, 65% is nothing.

For this, it was tough.

That's the kind of questions I was answering.

Hard.

Finally, I got everything gathered, and made Travis take me to Salt Lake to schedule my test.

August 27, 2014

8:00 am

Pearson Professional Centers- Las Vegas

101 Convention Center Drive.

Travis and I drove to Las Vegas, and stayed in the Stratosphere hotel.

It was the first time I had ever NOT wanted to go to Las Vegas.

I dreaded it all week.

I prayed and prayed, and made everyone else pray too.

We scoped out the drive the night before, ate dinner, and went to bed.

Except for I didn't really sleep.

I was too nervous.

This test is brutal.

It asks questions harder or easier based off of how you answer the previous questions.

It gets you to a point where you're answering 50% of the questions right.

You leave feeling like you failed.

You leave discouraged and confused.

I didn't want to talk about it to anyone.

I was embarrassed to tell everyone I didn't pass.

I wasn't ready for it.

Two days later, on Friday, both Travis and I woke up at the same time from the same dream.

I had passed my test in the dream, and then it switched and I had failed.

We checked the DOPL website immediately.

I had passed.

My name was there, loud and clear.

Kali Pickett, RN.

I'm so excited and feel so blessed to be able to make a difference in someone's life when they need it most.

I know this is what I'm supposed to do.

I don't know why, and I don't know that I'll ever find out.

But I cannot wait to start this journey.

I feel so blessed.