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I was completely stressed out and overwhelmed last night.

I thought, hey, I'd go through the practice questions they give you for the exam in the application materials, and have a low-key evening, to bed early so I would be fresh in the morning for my certification exam.

The questions were hard.

And I couln't figure out what they were looking for, or what direction to go in. And I still got the answers wrong when I looked at the solutions (ok cheating) in the back. 55% was my score on the practice exam.

I just wanted to cry.

So up this morning, make some coffee, eat some breakfast, get ready to go... then I thought I should have some documentation for the test which I couldn't find for a bit... then I had 40 minutes to get to West Bloomington by 8am. I knew I was in trouble when the freeway sign said it was 17 minutes to get to my exit, and it was 7:47am...

I was a terrible rush hour driver. Swearing, yelling, cadjoling the traffic to move a bit faster, and almost ending up in tears again. Following my directions after the exit, in the parking ramp, went out the wrong door... then ended up RUNNING through the parking ramp to get to the testing location. Yeah. If you are more than 15 minutes late, they won't let you take the test, and you forfeit your $310 registration fee. 8:12am, I walked through the door.

Whew.

5 1/2 hours later, 1 potty break, with the timer on the test telling me I had 50 seconds left, I clicked the "submit exam" button on the screen. It told me:

Result: PASS

Again, I almost cried. With relief. With joy and happiness. With a huge grin on my face. I now get to put letters behind my name: CSP. Certified Safety Professional.

Called my husband, he was very happy. Called my parents. Mom said she was proud of me. I'm just so happy/relieved right now. So glad it's over. So glad I passed. So glad I don't have to do it again.

The only question is:

What next?

~a