I PASSED MY NATIONALS EXAM!!

That's right, I FINALLY passed my exam! I am now officially a Nationally Certified Massage Therapist! And man...that was QUITE the process! 2 1/2 weeks ago, I decided to finally schedule my exam. I knew I wouldn't seriously start studying for it until I had it scheduled..so I did just that! Everyday I would wake up, hit the gym, then come back and study for a couple hours. And let me just tell you, I am NOT cut out to be a nerd! Studying just isn't my thing. However, I forced myself to study more than I have ever studied for ANYTHING! For those of you who think this test is just a simple little online thing...you are very mistaken! Here is how this whole process happened.
First of all, my test was scheduled for 8am this morning. I had to drive up to draper 30 mins away for this test. And as if 8am wasn't early enough as it is, I had to be there 30 minutes early! So I wake up at 6:30 (why does this time even exist?), read my scriptures, ate some breakfast, brushed my hair and threw on a hoodie...because there is no way I am getting completely ready this early, and leave my apartment at 7am. I make it to the testing center right on time, and when I get into the room, there is a least 8 other people in line waiting to be checked in. The whole checking in process is a joke! You'd think you were entering into a high security prison! It took me 30 minutes just to get up to the counter to begin my check in process. I hand over my ID, I am then informed they will need a fingerprint AND a picture of me before I can proceed to the next step. Once that is finished, I am given a key to a locker where I leave all my belongings. Then I sit and wait...and wait. This older gentelman then comes out into the room and tells me it's my turn! so I'm ready to walk into the room and take my test and get it over with already...but nooo. He almost had a heart attack when I tried to open the door! FIRST...I had to empty my pockets, pull my sleves up to my elbows, shake out my jacket, let him check my hood, get finger printed yet again, read the rules of the testing center, and then I was handed ear plugs and a dry erase board to take notes on. I was finally ESCOURTED into the testing center..oh and I almost forgot...while you are in the testing cented, you are being audio and visually recorded! The test took me 2 hours. I was sitting there thinking the whole time..."You've got to be kidding me...when did I study this??...I've never even seen this word...when will I ever be faced with a question like this!...I'm pretty sure I'm taking the wrong test..". I looked over my questions multiple times and finally came to the screen saying I have finished this test. Now was the moment. All I had to do was click the button that said "End" to see if I passed or failed. I starred at that button for a good 2 or 3 minutes...my heart pounding out of my chest because I knew I had failed. I finally clicked the button. In small writting in the middle of the screen...in between a billion other words, I see "Pass"...wait...WHAT?! Do my eyes deceive me? PASS?! Did I really just pass!?! I was sooooo excited! I'm pretty sure I re-read that at least 10 times making sure I did, in fact pass...and I did! So I raise my hand so I can be escourted out of the room, grab my print out and skipped back to my car still in complete shock that I passed! Is this the end of the process you ask? I regret to inform you, that no...this is not the end.
I then drive back to Lindon to UCMT, my school so I can start my licensing process. I fill out 3 or 4 packets of information, write a check out for $50 to pay for the rest of the testing process, sign my life away I don't even remember how many times. THEN, I take all that information, along with my transcripts in a sealed envelope stamped and labled by the school, put into another envelope with my diploma, and then drive back up to Salt Lake...to the very conveniently placed DOPL center just over an hour away...where I turn in my paperwork to apply for my license. When I get there...I am faced with another obsticle...yes, that's right...a parking meter. I have never used one of these before. Everytime I see one, I just keep on driving until I find a normal parking spot where I don't have to pay. I decided that today has been a big day, so I might as well just add one more accomplishment to my plate :) I park my car and stare at this parking meter through my window for a minute trying to figure out how it works. There was a sticker on the front that said "Only appropriate tokens may be used" Tokens? Where do I get tokens? Is there a booth near by? No...I didn't see one. So, I open my door, step out of my car, and walk over to this strangely shaped contraption...and stare at it some more. The guy in the van next to me was probably thinking I was quite unusual, but instead of offering some advice, he just watched. I see a sticker that says I need to insert my tokens, but I have no idea where the slot is! I'm looking all over the front and sides of this thing. I was just about to give up when I decided to walk around the back of this meter, and there it was! The slot! I just so happened to have a couple quarters with me, and they looked about the same size as the slot. And even though they weren't some gold tokens, I tried anyways. And guess what!? Parking meters accept quarters!! Who knew!?
I finally enter into the building, walk over to the DOPL center, turn in my packet along with a check for $95, then get fingerprinted AGAIN! But this time it was every single finger! So now...,y licensing process in finished! I should receive my license in the mail within the next 2 weeks. I am soooo excited!!! Now, I need to order some real business cards, and start looking for a job! I am real massage therapist now!! Man...seems like it took me FOREVER to get here, but I FINALLY did it!! So there you go. It is now 2pm and I feel like I can conquer the world :)