For those of you that don’t know what the NCLEX is, it is a giant test that stands between you and your dream of being a nurse. It is a test to verify that you have enough knowledge in that pretty little noggin’ of yours to provide safe and quality care to your patients. It is a test that is the real finish line in the race you started when you began nursing school. And it’s a hard one. Your test can be 75 questions long, or it can be over 200 questions long, all depending on how well you are answering them. You will get questions that give you 5 right answers, you just have to pick the best one and hope that the right answer you picked is the right answer for the test. It is a $500 test that, if you do not pass, you have to wait 3 months before you can take it again. It is scary.
So my test is scheduled for October 18th, and a couple of months ago, I was fine, confident. I wasn’t worried. Life had thrown me plenty curveballs already this year, and I thought, “all I have left to do to get myself out of this hole, is to pass this test”.
And then came my fender bender, a week later, a car stolen that we had to pay $600 dollars to get out of a tow yard even though it was missing tires, seats, steering wheel, etc. Now, a month later and we have another accident.
This year, my friends, besides the fact that I graduated nursing school and was able to see my little brother get married, has quite possibly been one of the most stressful and depressing years of my life. So much of me wishes that I could just pause life for a moment and take a breath. But life doesn’t work that way. Here I am, tonight, sick, 2 days of studying lost because of whatever bug I’m battling, 1000 more questions of studying that I need to do and more because I am not confident I will pass yet, receiving breaking news that our only car was rendered useless. I am not sure how I will get to work on Thursday. It is just too much. But I have to get it done.
I literally have 8 days left to study and 3 of those are work days. I feel like I should move my test maybe. But maybe I shouldn’t. I don’t know.
Anyway, I’m writing because I am overwhelmed.
I wanted to semi document my journey through nursing school, but I never did. I wanted to document my journey for this NCLEX, but I don’t know what to say really.
Okay, here is what I have to say.
In real time, real feelings, honesty,
A month ago, I had a long list on my to-do list. After graduation, I just wanted to accomplish it all. I wanted to stay strong with water intake, daily workouts, eating right. I wanted to meal prep, and cook, and lose weight. I wanted to study for my test and pass. I wanted to start writing more.
But it felt like I was failing at EVERYTHING
There was so much on my plate that everything was dying. What is that phrase? About spreading yourself too thin, or watering too many plants that you don’t give one enough water to survive?
Whatever
You get my point
I decided a few weeks ago that I had to drop every other goal for now so that I could focus on my exam. My anxiety was getting heightened and the overloaded plate was making my panic attacks come back. So I decided “F the eating right, F the weight gain, F the workouts” I need to study and only study until this test is behind me.
Viola!
Weight lifted off my shoulders. Granted, I’m gaining weight, my skin is a mess, my apartment, I can’t see the floor of.
But I’m happier and no more panic attacks.
Still stressed out, still worried about not passing this test. But at least I’m not spontaneously crying anymore.
For anyone reading this, for anyone with a list of goals, for anyone with anxiety.
Sometimes, you feel like you have to be superwoman. Sometimes, you feel like you have to be perfect; the perfect girlfriend, the perfect employee, the perfect housemate, perfect woman. You want that perfect body and perfect skin.
But sometimes, you have to be okay with not being perfect. You have to be okay with saying it’s too much and you have to live within imperfection for a while. You have to let yourself breathe and take care of yourself.
When I told some people that I was going to throw everything out of the window and just focus on studying, most of my feedback, was “why?! You can do it, you can eat right, and work out, and study, and come to work, just do __, __, and ___” and it made me think for a moment, maybe I am taking an easy road out, maybe I am being lazy…..NO
I saw what it was doing to me, trying to be perfect. Trying to accomplish it all at once. I am not abandoning all my goals. I am just pausing some while I focus on one.
The point that I am now trying to make, is that no one knows what you are going through but yourself. You know what you need, you know how you feel, you know what you can handle. Don’t let other people push you into running yourself into the ground.
Love yourself, take care of yourself, it is okay to live in imperfection.
Sincerely,
An introverted dreamer that doesn’t want her madness to be silenced 💋
P.S. Picture is of my life beside me because I needed theraflu all day, comfort, and hydration. Not healthy, I know, but I’m sick, don’t judge me.
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