How to Study for the NCLEX

Okay. So, like I said, somehow on this wonderful great Earth, I passed the NCLEX. Without taking any prep class. And I'm no smartie pants, trust me. So for all you future nursing students, or seniors, or post-graduates still waiting to take the test, let me give you a few tips. Because If I could pass it, anyone can.


Disclaimer: It is highly very much so highly incredibly highly against the law to give out ANY information about ANY test questions or test material. So, I will take you from graduation day up until you sit down (literally) to take the test. From there on, well....you're on your own.




So here it is...how to do well on the NCLEX:
Step One: Post-Graduation:

The most important thing to do in step/phase one is to GO HAVE FUN! This is so important and I cannot stress it enough. You just graduated from a nursing program! You did it! You deserve to go do anything fun! Not just one day of fun. Go have a month long spree of fun, let your brain on overload have a BREAK, and just go do new things, meet new people, see new sights. TRAVEL! And most importantly during this month, don't open an NCLEX book. Chances are during this month post-graduation your ATT test number isn't ready anyway and therefore you don't even have a date set in stone anyway, so just have fun and relax. If you jump into nclex right after graduation, your brain is still on too much stress/overload. It just needs a breather. Also, right after graduation, your mind is probably so focused on what your last semester was information-wise. Take some time to let your brain adjust and re-gather everything you learned over the last four years, you're gonna need it.

In this phase, I went to Europe. At first I was incredibly nervous about this because this delayed any studying by a month after graduation. Meanwhile my fellow classmates were already in NCLEX prep classes not even a week after graduation! I was nervous. I thought, oh man- they are so much already on their game....I'm not even taking any class. How can I possibly pass? But it turns out taking that month off was the best thing I ever could have done.

Step Two: Buy An NCLEX study program/ Book

This is a very very flexible phase. I will tell you what I did, but that is by no means the absolute best way. There are a LOT of great nclex-prep programs and study books out there, but I will tell you what to try and look for.

After I got my test date set in stone, I knew I had exactly 6 weeks. So I bought the NCSBN's Nclex Prep Course for only $50 (VERY worth it!). This was a month long and requires 27 hours per week (on average) to finish it. I certainly did not put that time in, but it was still very worth the money. This program takes you through from the fundamentals of nursing, theory and anatomy up to the very end of nursing. It takes you through a very detailed but concise review of the most important facts you need to know, and then reviews with you with a post-test after each review. It even has a pre-diagnostic test so you can see where your weaknesses are from the very beginning. When you are done with the review sesssions (if you can make it through all of them), there is a couple full practice exams at the very end that you can just do on your own time.

The BEST part is, is that the NCSBN (National Council of the State Boards of Nursing).....(I think)...they DESIGN THE TEST. Um, hello, $50 for a course designed by the people that design the real exam, compared to a $600 nclex prep course by (insert common nclex prep program here) that doesn't design the exam? Its kind of a no-brainer....right?

This is not to say a real course is not for you. Some people need a $600 prep course where you sit in traffic a week after graduation in the hot summer and commute every day to sit in a review course and go over countless questions and then come back and do it again the next day. That is for some people. Some people don't have the attention span to do it over the computer. For less money.

So, eventually that program expires. However, I also had in my back wing a $50 NCLEX prep BOOK ( this one ) to use after the first program expires. Now, I thought this book was great. It was just questions. But it first separates not only by body system but then separates again into particular diseases/syndromes/conditions so that you can review specific things you need help on.  At the end of the book, is about 6 full (180 Q) practice exams that are jumbled in terms of question content. Just like the real nclex.

Now, This is very important. In my opinion, you can't just have questions. Your brain can't fully learn that way. Your brain can't apply what it learns from getting one question wrong to a real question on the nclex. Thats a surefire way to spiral down quickly. If you don't take a review course, you need to find some way to review before/ during your questions. Now there are some books out there that review and then ask questions, but this is what I did... Our school used the ATI nursing exam-prep computer program throughout our entire 4 years at school. Now, thats all good and well because it got us used to nclex style testing very quickly, but the point is this: we got to keep our ATI review books, one book per nursing class. I could find no better way to review.

So I let fate take its course and decide what I needed to review. I used a random number generator and let that decide what page to turn to on my question book, and if it brought me to "Hydatiform Mole" in the maternity section, I would go get my maternity book, review everything about hydatiform mole, and THEN take the 20 questions on it. Your brain needs to review on a topic and then get asked questions on it.....get it? So whether or not you choose to review with the NCSBN course, or ATI, or another random book, or your school notes-textbooks, whatever. Also, remember during review that nclex isn't about remembering every detail about every disease. Know the HUGE points. The obvious obvious points about a lot of things that can happen in nursing. From then on, its all about using that basic knowledge combined with knowing "How to answer a question even if you have no idea what they are talking about".

So I did that random number generator type practice review, jumping around from topic to topic all day, and then did one comprehensive test at night.It is also really important during this stage to TAKE BREAKS. Trust me, I thought there was no way I would pass because I took too many breaks. I have done SO MANY fun things this summer and by no means did I sit at a table doing nclex every day (other than the week of the test). I would do one day of review for about 2 hours, and then wouldn't look at it again for another 3 days and then do another couple-hour review. You have to go at a comfortable pace and do what you feel right for you.

A rule of thumb: the very minute you find yourself re-reading questions for the second, third or fourth time before you actually READ it, stop. Stop studying completely. If its night time, just go to bed or relax. If its in the middle of the day, go do something that doesnt require much brain power. This is your brain telling you, you need a break! Don't be afraid or guilty to take one!



Step Three:


The week of the test, 7 days left to go:

I prepped for what was going to happen the week of the test before the week came. I told friends and family that I would not be able to hang out very much that week, besides the must-do things like work. The week of, (in my opinion) it IS time to buckle down. You DO NEED BREAKS, but this is not a good time to schedule a vacation or take a three day trip to see your best friend. However, study like you've never studied before all day, (10-4) ish, and then relax by night. Watch a movie. Eat healthy. Just relax.


Step Four: Day before the test

Everyone has a different opinion on what to do the day before. I am a nervous worry freak person, and I did not feel ready yet so I kept reviewing, but I set limits. I told myself I would stop no matter what by 5 pm. And I stopped at 5:43 pm (lol), but it was still a nice stopping time. After that, I put it all away. I made a really good dinner, watched a favorite tv show, went out for Rita's with my family, wrote a blog, and took a bubble bath and thought about nothing. Other activities I suggest doing, depending on what you like to do: Listen to music that you LOVE, read a book, watch a movie, go for a run, go swimming, do anything that you love to do that has nothing to do with NURSING! Get away from all things nursing. Give your brain this one last chance to just relax, because you're gonna need all your brain power the next day!

I want to tell you to go to bed early and get lots of sleep, but I know just as well as you that this is unlikely. I went to bed later than I should have and slept maybe all of about 30 minutes because I was nervous. So, not sure how to help you with that other than to say TRY to go to bed early, and get lots of sleep, but...you know. Its hard. I get it.


Step Five: Day of the Test

I had my exam scheduled at 8 AM which I think was WONDERFUL. I woke up at 530, ate a lovely breakfast I made for myself, left house by 615, got there by 7 and was in the registration process by 730.

Taking it so early, I didn't really have time to be nervous. I kind of felt cool and calm, because there is no point in making yourself a nervous bunch of nerves, because there is nothing more you can do at this point to prepare. The best you can do at this point is CALM DOWN, take a deep breath, and use all your brain power to take the exam. That is all.


And that IS all!


If you are taking it soon, know that I know exactly how you feel. I did NOT think I would pass, I had very little confidence. I was nervous that I never took that class, and only studied on my own. I didn't think I was smart enough to take it and pass. But I did. I stopped at 83 questions and that was that.

Tip: when I hit 76, I did the universal freak-out moment. I did. I said I wouldn't freak out but I did. Because its nerve wracking. At 76 you know the computer is unsure about you and you could stop in 3 questions or in 150 questions, and you just have to keep answering. So after 76, I said a little prayer and just really, really, concentrated on each question and did the best I could possibly do- and what do you know- it shut off 8 questions later and I was done. I could have jumped for joy!


So, for all my fellow nursing students out there, it will be OKAY. I promise. It truly is not as bad as everyone makes it out to be. Just REVIEW, PRACTICE A LOT OF QUESTIONS (this gets you used to knowing which answers are B.S.) and keep calm, and carry on!



Sincerely,

A Writer in a Nurses Body

It All Comes Down to This

How is it that four years of college.....nearly  $80,000....all means nothing until you pass a two hour (average) test?


NCLEX. Tomorrow.


Failing simply cannot be an option. It just isn't.

I've practiced practice questions to the point of nauseum. I have been making up questions in my sleep.


I had a long, relaxing, encouraging conversation with a friend today that has already been through all this (successfully), and picked up a few tips and learned a little bit more about myself. I learned that I think I'm in the bargaining phase of....anxiety? I just made that up. Just watch, soon it will be in psychology textbooks. Next to the "5 phases of grief" there will be the "phases of anxiety". I do it all the time. When I need something to happen very much, I bargain. I plead, "please, if I can just pass this test, I will save the world. I will do a good deed. I will volunteer more. I will jump out of a plane. I will find a cure for cancer. I will....well, you get the idea.  I just really want to pass this test.


I promise, to all other nursing students that may read this, If i pass, then I promise to write a whole blog dedicated to study tips.


It all comes down to this. Tomorrow. And then I find out Saturday (ish). I'm sure I won't have any fingers left. I've been practically chewing them off one by one.

All my friends, all the people that know me, assure me I will do very well and be fine. But what if I don't? What if I don't?  What then? What if they are all wrong?  I mean, when my friends took it, I assured them they would do great, and I meant it, and they did do great....I just hope the same goes for me.


Nervous beans!!



~WNB

Bringing the Right Side Back

I still have it grained into my brain that I should be studying. Well, I should be studying for the NCLEX but i'm not doing that hardcore until after Europe.

But this is how my thought pattern goes:

Wow this T.v. show is great, but I feel guilty for watching it because I should be studying. Oh wait, I graduated.  Or maybe, I'm gonna draw! I am so gonna draw! I am gonna draw til 4 am! I am gonna draw EVERYTHING i see! I am gonna draw that banana. I am gonna draw my windowsill. I am gonna draw that picture. Oh wait, none of this is a good idea, because I really should be studying something academic related. Oh wait, I graduated.

I tell you, its like I have a 5 minute memory. I keep thinking I should be studying, and I have to remind myself I really, actually have no homework. Its creepishly weird.

I can read books again. For FUN. WHAT? When I'm not working, if I want to kick back and watch mindless t.v. for 8 hours, I CAN.

But more importantly, I am fully charged to bring back the right side of my brain. My artistic side is coming out again ready to go. I think partly to getting a new camera lately in preparation for photography in Europe, mixed with photography apps on the iphone, mixed with drawing, painting....I love it all. This week is all about packing and working but after I get home--And wind down from all the European excitement- I am so gonna draw everything I see. I'm going to draw so much so much so much that I am going to get so much practice and be as good again as I once was. I want to paint again, too! And Not make orange people! I actually think I am going to paint something really abstract. That way you can't tell exactly what it is--and you won't be able to tell that there are orange people or things look weird, because its abstract. OoOoh. With like...shapes, and weird colors in place of people and trees, and things. So, yeah. Art!

UNEXPECTED DELIGHT of today!

I was in Barnes & Noble today, doing my "after I sit for two hours drinking tea and reading The New Yorker- browse walkthrough through the store picking up random books and look through them and want to buy them but know they will never be read so I put them back-  kind of thing when I graced upon the travel section. Obviously, I checked out Europe, and the countries I'll be visiting in particular.

Call me really stupid, insane, unwise, pathetic, unworldly or whatever, But I am not exactly highly knowledgeable about sightseeing in Europe. I'm really not. In fact, I'm not really highly knowledgeable about sightseeing in America, so don't ask me anything. I've even been across most of my country.

Anyway, besides knowing some major cities in each country and knowing each countries major tourist attractions (i.e. Paris=Eiffel tower), I really don't know much else. Now you'd think, If I were really smart- I would like....research....these sorts of things before I went there so I could get a feel for what I would really like to see. But thats not the way I'm doing it.

I'm actually just gonna wing it. Because for me, just walking down the streets of Italy is enough of a tourist attraction for me. I could take 1,000 pictures of just the street. So It really doesn't matter to me if I hit the "must-see" tourist traps attractions. Also, I hate  getting "typical" tourist shots that you could just as easily find on google and save yourself a boatload of memory space on your camera and computer. I'll obviously get a shot of the Eiffel tower, but I do not need 30 different shots of the tower. Instead, I will find some way to make shooting the tower different. Like no other photographer yet. I'm not sure how. But I will.  I like to get shots that you could never find on google- or anywhere else- Like of an old couple enjoying ice cream sitting on a park bench or by an Italian fountain or something. Or of kids playing in the street. I'm the one taking shots of everything else but the tourist attraction we paid money for that everyone else is taking pictures of.

HOWEVER, my unexpected delight of today- I was flipping through a book about Italy. And I turned to a random page- and it happened to be about Juliet's house. Then I realized that this was in Verona (If this is really really common knowledge then I greatly apologize for being so drastically under a rock), and I am SO GOING to Verona! SO this is one of TWO tourist attractions that I MUSTTTT visit!!!   I already knew Verona would be amazing, but this- this I have to go to. I am SO excited to see Juliet's house. The other one I have to see is FLorence Nightingale's Nursing museum in London somewhere (I have to find it). Other than that, I'm just gonna go with the flow. I have nothing on my must-do list besides those, and I think its better that way. Because without any expectations, you can't be disappointed.


I sat in B & N today with all my  Barne's & Noble's language phrase books, and sat there in the aisle mouthing silently all these European phrases. Some phrases I am trying to learn in all the languages I'll need: (German, French, Italian) are:

- I am an American (even though I'm pretty sure they will already know this without me having to tell them).
- I can not have food with milk or cheese.
- Where is the toilet? (everyone in my group will so thank me for this).
- I like your shoes. (brownie points).
- I'm lost (I know I will need this).
- My name is...
- Thank you, please, hello, goodbye....etc.

I've heard that Europeans kind of hate Americans because we are all fat and ugly. And that is understandable because a lot of us are and the typical tourist with their fanny packs and sunglasses that NEEDS mcDonalds everywhere they go and push people around....I would hate them too. But I assure you, we are not all like that. But if silly Americanos come to my country and asked me stupid questions In English, I would throw a rock at them too. But I also hear that tourists are treated a little nicer if they make at least a small effort to blend in and speak a little of the native language. So that is what I am trying to accomplish....whether its via Iphone translation, having a phrasebook in my hand or just literally throwing a couple syllables out there and hope they form a word in that language- I'll figure it out.  ONE WEEK!!


~WNB

P.S. - Ciao! Au Revoir! Auf Wiedersehen! Sin seveder! Pfueatti!

copyright - picture taken from going to google and typing in "Eiffel Tower" and then i clicked on the prettiest one (naturally) and then it said it was taken from www.dailycontributor.com so this is my fancy schpeel of a copyright.

Is this real life?

One more final tomorrow...one more final of my undergraduate nursing career.

So comes the last, final, neverending debate:

Its 11pm now. I'm tired (shock! gasp!). My final is at 4:30 tomorrow. Pm. Do I stay up late (really late) and finish studying tonight and then sleep til...1pm tomorrow? Or, go to sleep now, and get up early (thats taking a risk), and study all day before test?


hmmm....tough decisions, tough decisions.....

I should be studying right now instead of writing silly pointless blog entries is what I really should be doing. *sigh*

~WNB

LAST FINAL EVERRRR

Getting Ready....

AH! So even though I am supposed to be studying for my last final and not doing anything else with my time, that is so not what is happening. There's been a lot of sleeping, movie watching, breakfast-going, reading, and checking details on Europe trip!

I just found out I'll be landing in Iceland first as a connecting flight. I wish you could leave the airport and go see Iceland! But I'll have to observe via the windows. But I am so excited!

Last night I woke up in the middle of the night and I was thinking about time. It finally sunk in that my best friend's trip to Europe leaves in.....8 days!? And I'll be leaving in 21! During my delusional sleeping half-awake state, I began freaking out. I was like- oh my god. I can't do this. I can't fly alone! I can't find my tour guide! What If I can't find my tour guide? What if my plane crashes! OH MY GOD I'M GOING TO EUROPE.

When I booked the trip earlier this year, it was like.....yeah, I'm going to Europe. I was SUPER excited, but it didn't really feel real. Heck, we had paid the whole sum and it still didn't feel real. I mean, Its something I have wanted for my entire life. Well, as long as I've known what Europe was.  Some of my more fortunate friends have gotten to go with their families as children, or as teenagers, or have gone with school trips, sports teams, with a boyfriend/girlfriend, or with a similar tour group as mine....and I just kept thinking, I want to go! But I never thought I actually could.

I don't think it will feel real until my first step out of the airport. It will be surreal. I have no idea what to expect! super excited.

Quick Post

So today, I hit my total breaking point on approximately.....every aspect of my life. mental breakdown? Idk.

regardless, this includes still feeling like s***. So, based on the fact that I have FELT like crap and DONT want to feel like crap any longer and for Europe, I finally called in the professionals. I really want to see this Holistic NP about 45 min away from me. She has helped close friends and I know she can run the right tests....even if she isn't under my insurance and it will be expensive. But at this point, I will pay for health. I need to feel better. I need answers.

So I called, thinking it would be no problem.

Well, they are "booking appointments two months in advance. FS)(*)$#*. So, I was like....Crap. So She gave me an appt for June, after Europe of course, and put me on an extensive waiting list if there were any cancellations. Boo.

THEN, about fifteen minutes later  I got a call asking if this Thursday would work. Its conflicting with a lot of important things, but health takes top priority. So, yay!!! I really hope she can help. I have my fingers crossed so much it will take weeks to uncross them. :-(


Huge exam tomorrow. Not prepared. Freaking out. Probably a significant cause of me not feeling well. Oh well. If thats the case, I wont feel well again until....May? May 14th? Graduation?

If I Could...

Amongst all the superpowers out there available to all who are super, the superpower I want the most is to never have to be able to sleep. I could get so much work done. We spend like over half our lives sleeping. Being exhausted halts my workpace at like...9pm. And I sleep til 8-9 am. Thats 12 more hours of productive work. I hate feeling tired.

But, with this superpower, I could of course opt to sleep if I wanted to. It would be like a little light switch. Because sometimes I like to sleep. Ok, well, I love to sleep, i just hate having to sleep when I have other important things to do. But when you think about it, do I love to sleep because its a relief from being tired, or do I love to sleep just because? Because What else do I like about sleep other than it makes me less-tired? The comfy bed? because I can get that when I'm awake, too. An escape from reality? I guess I would miss having that. And I think I would miss the dream-world most of all.

I think there is a blog post of mine already out there about this exact same thing but that only exemplifies the fact of how much I want this superpower.

If you happen to be a genie out there reading this, don't grant me this until we talk a little first. I have to make some ramifications so that I work through all the loopholes.

:-)

teehee.

~WNB.

PS_ No really though, wouldn't it be awesome?

Maybe It's Supposed to be this Way.

I have been fluctuating moods so drastically lately....I think its the stress/lack of sleep/lack of exercise. I go to two extremes when I'm really tired- I'm either really hyper or really, really groggy and I act like I either have dementia or am really drunk. Today is one of those non-hyper kind of exhausted days. I need to figure out why this is happening. Just the other night I was running around the house dancing and wanted to finish all of my work I have ever been assigned, read the newspaper front to back, wash the dishes, do everything.  And I wasn't even hyped up on caffeine...I was just me. It was just this crazy all day burst of energy. And then, days like this, where I try really hard to be productive but I am so tired that all I do is drag myself out of bed to attend to my schedule, and then crawl back into bed as soon as I can... I exercised today, hoping it would help. I scheduled an hour but only had enough energy for 30 minutes, and I started to feel dizzy. So I got off, cooled down and then on way back had a burst of energy and I wanted to run (weird) so I ran the half mile back to my house. That felt good, and I felt good for about a half hour and then the exhaustion came back.

I don't get it. I sleep perfectly well at night. I usually sleep right through. I get 7-9 hours usually every night. My nutrition is pretty good, in my opinion. I take vitamins. I get a variety of food. I get my protein. Carbs. the usual....Im under a lot of stress but I dont think its drastic enough to cause this amount of exhaustion, almost every day. I think its something medical going on, but again, I can't prove anything and I hate going to the doctor's to complain about something when I just sound like another hypochondriac basket case.

But anyway, I came to an epiphany today. Actually, it was last night. I was thinking- wow- This nursing program is really, really hard. And its not just me that thinks so. Everyone thinks its hard. We are all complaining. We are all really stressed. We are all under a lot of pressure. We all have papers due, midterms, presentations up to the wazoo....often due at the same time. Its unfair, when you think about it at first. However, I sat back in a daze and really thought about it. All the nursing programs that I have heard of are hard. Its not just us. Associate degree programs are hard. Other BSN programs are hard. I'm pretty sure its probably national.

But I think....just maybe...this is a good thing. These programs shouldn't be training & teaching nurses by holding their hand and making everything as easy as pie while we are in school. Because, guess what? I don't care if you are a nurse for cute little whateverbeans, our jobs aren't going to be like that. Nothing will be easy. We will have multiple things on our immediate to-do list at all times, just like now. As much of a hellhole the last 3 years have remotely been, In the end, I'm glad for the experience. I'm glad we have been scared shitless and stressed to no end, because its practice.

Would you want a nurse that hasn't been through a really hard program? Probably not, right?

Its funny because while I was still in high school, I was one of the stupid little naive girls that I hate now. Before I decided to go to community college- I had entertained the idea of coming straight to my college I'm at now right away- If I could have even gotten in, that is. Someone older that I had been talking to had warned me that this college's Nursing program was very, very, very hard. I thought to myself.......yeah, right. I'm pretty smart. I work hard. How hard could it possibly be? If I work really hard, I'll be fine.

Well, whoever that person was, they were right. But I'm glad. Thats all =]

Now, If I could just get some work done before I fall asleep again....That would be so fantastic. Big week ahead....(what else is new).

~WNB

I'm a Nursing Major and Never Get to Be Creative OKAY?

Well, I have a major project due tomorrow. In community health, throughout the semester we will be taking our presentations to local shelters and community agencies and education place type things and educating people about our topic. My topic happens to be "Woman's Health and Business"....meaning...educating about our private parts, hygiene, sex, etc. So luckily, since we only had a short amount of time to complete the project, our teacher let us take last year's work and just "fix it up". Well, this is what I got:

At first I was like HEY WOW this is pretty good! So I put it away and didn't look at it until 2 days before it was due. I should include here that we also got "cheat sheetS" to go along with these posters. So when I finally decide I should start working on it (sunday), I start looking at this poster and realize about 80% didn't make sense. The previous unknown person filled up a lot of empty space with pictures and not really useful information.
SO. I'm sitting there. In my chair. 5 feet away from this poster. Staring at it. Thinking. How can I possibly fix this? Where do I start? So I sat there for about 7 more minutes and then I remembered that we were supposed to educate about hygiene throughout the body from head to toe. So I figured I could make some sort of figurine, that could illustrate the entire body and I could do it that way.

Well, I can't do anything half ass. So I took a major trip to Michael's, spent $30 (and that was being conservative), and found what I was gonna do. I decided to buy a whole new poster board and start completely over. *sigh*.



The beginning stages. Organized Chaos. And my laptop there, allowing me to watch Modern Family from my common area. Yay for long internet cables!!

 So here is the final finished result:

There was a lot of krazy glue. It got kind of crazy. There was a lot of glueing fingers together.
BUT, I think It turned out pretty OK, Yes? It is a little overwhelming, yes. But that is ok. As long as its fun to look at!  It has information on cramps, tampons, pads, sex and cleanliness, hair care, lice or dandruff, mouth care, nail care, gyno care, feet care, pretty pictures, how to shave, how to put on makeup the right way, how to tell if you have a UTI or a yeast infection....its pretty good stuff! I'm pretty happy with it.

~WNB

Related Posts:

Community Health Knowledge

Oh, College...

Staying up til 2 A.M. Playing the Sims 3 computer game?


EASY. I WILL NEVER BE TIRED EVER!!!!!


Staying up til 12 AM finishing a stupid presentation?

THE HARDEST THING IN THE WORLD I'M SO TIRED.


College.

Last Years Resolutions

So this post is going to be about reflecting on last year's resolutions, posted on this blog, on December 31st, 2009. No need to post the link, because I'm going to put them in this blog, for you. :-) My bold font will be talking (typing), in modern-day. Just so you don't get confused. And tomorrow, I'm going to make a post about this year's resolutions. I don't have any yet but I'm going to work really hard tomorrow and think of some good ones.

Last Years:

I want to Learn Chinese!! I actually want to learn every language (at least 10) and Chinese has always fascinated me, so good place to start. I know a lot of Spanish and a tid bit of French, but I'm ready to take on China. And Sign Language is a very close second.


Okay. So. It turns out that I didn't learn any new languages. New Year's Resolutions are funny because when you make them you are SO SURE that you are going to follow through, so sure! It does not seem illogical in any way, shape, or form, and you are completely sure you are going to do it. I was totally sure I was totally capable of learning 10 languages this year.

Turns out, I even went to Barnes & Noble and was all like, "I'm gonna buy Rosetta Stone. It's going to be totally awesome and I'm going to be fluent in 10 languages by 2011 because Rosetta Stone is awesome and I'm going to be able to travel anywhere I want and talk to anyone I want. In case I haven't already stated, I thought it would be totally awesome. Instead, I was all like......"Oh, hey I found Rosetta Stone. This looks nice. I'm gonna buy it. Oh wait, It costs HOW MUCH? .......o_0.........WHY?"

So I didn't buy it. And, I didn't learn any languages.

Sorry Rosetta Stone. Don't sue me. You already have enough money. Clearly.

I need to continue my weight loss regimen, so I guess this is and isn't a "resolution". Its been a rocky road in terms of losing weight but at least it's a road at all and best I can do with the new year is to keep trying. I need to be 20 pounds less by next year!


Again, with the whole failure to make a realistic goal....20 pounds? Maybe If I had Jillian Michaels living in my house. I lost like 5 pounds. Over a year. Awesome.

I need to keep better control of my finances…big time. Its not that I spend a lot of money, but the money I do spend I spend without keeping track of and then I get my bills…and I just feel out of control. I don't know where any of it possibly went. But I guess that's a typical part of life…but I have to try. It will never be perfect, but I need some sort of system…any ideas?

this failed miserably. Totally miserable. I tried apps on my phone. I tried not spending anything ever. Then I realized I needed food. And like...gas. I tried only spending a certain amount every day. I tried writing everything down in a little notebook but I got depressed that I was spending significantly more than I was making and it made me sad.

I need to stop biting my stupid fingernails!!!!! Enough said.

I never stopped :( I bite them when I'm nervous/anxious. I've been nervous/anxious a lot this year. Thats my excuse.

I need to do a heck of a lot better in my studies. I haven't been good enough. Have to keep trying. Med surg is coming this spring, and it will be the hardest class yet. I have to put every ounce of effort I possibly have into this course.

Well. Med Surg 1 was ridiculously hard. I did well...but not great. I expected it to be hard. And it was a lot harder than I thought it would be. But, I was prepared for Med Surg 11 and It went a little better and I passed everything YAY. YAYYAYYAY I DID ONE RESOLUTION YAY.

I need to focus on being happier with living in my skin. I have been very on edge lately and I can't place why. But that's another blog, like I said.

I have been a LOT happier. I think I've just had a different spin on things and have been looking at things differently. I have learned a lot. I have updated on this blog a lot more, and that has helped the happiness factor. I have found inner happiness within myself, by myself, and it is all happy everywhere.

I want to read more!! And paint more!! (Summer activities).

I have been reading a lot more! Mostly nursing books. But thats okay. They were excellent. And I painted a painting and I thought it was really, really good but then a couple months later I came home from school and looked at it and I was like.....crap. This painting is not good. Then I started another one and it has been sitting....half drawn, half painted....with all the paintbrushes and crap on top of it in the corner of my room...since I started it. So, um....this resolution was sort of accomplished?

Epic fail. I used to think it was good. Until I re-assessed the situation and realized I made him *orange*.

I need to keep my room clean as I can.

I have significantly improved on the room-cleanliness factor. Its not perfect, but significantly improved.

I need to keep my car as clean as I can!! It makes me sad to drive it.

This. DId. Not. Happen. I'm sorry, dear car. :-( This was not a realistic goal. Not for me.

I need to focus on de-stressing more, because this has been ridiculous! J

HA! I ended up in the hospital because my colon was too stressed out. HA! So, this was not realistic.

 
 
I really don't even know what to say about these resolutions. No comment. I plan to update this later and put pictures in. I think? Maybe.
 
~WNB.

Just Not Into It

I think I decided I was done studying like a week ago.

I'm going to be mad at myself tomorrow.

Oh, I've tried to study. I really have. But whats the point in reading information that I know my brain is just glazing over? I know when I'm taking in information and when I'm just reading the page. I'm wasting my time if I'm going to stare at the page. And then I just fall asleep. I keep falling asleep every single time I try and look over this information. Part of me feels like I know the information, and therefore it is boring to me to have to read it over again. But the other part of me is afraid that I don't know the information as well as I thought, and therefore am too intimidated at the daunting task of reviewing everything, so my brain just shuts off without even trying. I know I am going to be so mad at myself tomorrow for not trying hard enough. All I had to do was put in 100%, for one more day, and I gave it maybe 30 %.

Best i can do now is try my best...make educated guesses. *sigh*.

Perseverance

One. More. Day.

One more day. One more final. One more day (today) of studying, and tomorrow I take it. But I've gone through 4 major exams this semester already and by now, I am just so....tired, tired of being stressed, tired of studying, tired of trying. But I can't be tired. If I give up now, I will hate myself tomorrow for it when a)I'm taking the final and I realized I should have studied more and b) after the final, when things are good again and I have nothing to do, I'll say-boy- you really couldnt put in one more day of hard work, before a month of relaxation? Really? And then I'll feel guilty.

So, one more day. I have to fight through being exhausted, try and gather up some knowledge...review everything (its a lot of information)...and somehow, pass.

I feel like such a typical American college student. My biggest concern in life (at this very moment), is passing this final tomorrow...there are other people in this world...in this state, in this city, maybe even at this college, that can say their biggest concern at this moment is how to feed their children that night, or themselves, or how to pay the electricity bill, or how they are going to fight through another round of chemotherapy. And I'm worried about passing my final.

THe least I can do is try. One more day of hard work. I have to. I'm so close to the end, I can't get off the train now...

~WNB

Interesting Topic of Conversation

I'm in Barnes & Noble. There are two girls in high school, at a table a couple away from me, legitimately discussing the happenings of dinosaur sex.



I am not kidding.

I am curious to know what class this is for? o_O

So close to the end...

I am so close to finishing the semester.

I have to manage to get through ONLY:

-one more paper due monday.
-an exam, on monday. A big exam.
-a student presentation, on monday.
-a student evaluation of my clinical experience, on monday.

monday is going to be a big day.

then, tuesday, I have to do a scenario in our lab that could depict any medical situation that we learned about from last semester and this semester which is freak-out worthy because I'm pretty sure I forgot everything about last semester. Lets hope thats not true..:(

But I am just so incredibly, ridicuously, absurdly, abnormally TIRED. Total and complete lack of energy to do any of this. Luckily my paper is written and presentation is done. I just need to do some major editing on my paper (ugh!) and practice my presentation....but studying for the exam is just....blahhhhhhhh.


I just have to get through just a little more. After tuesday, all i have to do is study for a major final and i'm home-free...


This christmas break I vow to:

-finish my painting I started in the summer
- read a book, for fun.
-go ice skating

thats all i want :)

So tired. I think its time to turn to 5 hour energy. I already took a nap today. Didnt help. Cant take another nap. *sigh*.

Should be Fun

Getting ready now to go to a lab simulation scenario on a topic that we have YET to learn about because our professor got behind in lecture. So, it should be fun. I'm just going off of the textbook :-\

good times.


Today is Barnes & Noble Day! I plan to spend quite a bit of time there after my lovely scenario because I have to:
-write a paper
- finish a presentation
-complete my student evaluation
-READ MY FRIGGEN TEXTBOOK

:-)


more good times.

Highlight

Sometimes I feel as if more of my textbook is highlighted (highlit?) than not highlight-ed.

It's like at that point, why bother highlighting? It's all friggen yellow!

Dining hall

I think it's funny when people bring their laptop to the dining hall when they eat. Especially on a Sunday. Like, are you really that busy? Are you checking email? Facebook? If you are, just get an iPhone! If you are studying, then kudos to you my friends for that extreme dedication. I'll leave the studying in my room and my eating in the dining hall.

Oh, and it's POSTSECRET TIME!!!!
www.postsecret.com (for those of you that are NOT already swept in by the worldwide Sunday phenomenon)

Halloween!

It's Halloween!

Except I really don't care because I won't be doing anything. I studied last night and plan to study all day today. Depressing. I have had good memories of Halloween from childhood, but due to the fact that i cannot have any candy any more (literally, at all), Halloween pretty much sucks. And I don't like to dress up and get drunk and go to parties. Not my thing.

Yay for studying! o_O

School, again. And Everything.

These next.....two weeks are going to be the epitome of the semester. The epitome of working really, really hard. Like, no breaks. The occaisonal TV show, maybe....but these next two weeks I have to put it in to HIGH GEAR. Fall break did not go as smoothly as planned, and I wanted to get a lot more done than I did, which upsets me. So, now is the punishment. Work work work!!

Shower, work, eat, sleep, repeat.