State Board Take 1

I have been working for 18 months and it all comes down to one day....State Board. During the 18 months of school I have found that I truly enjoy doing hair, primarily haircutting and coloring. It was going to come to the finale on Thursday morning in Glendale, when I took the only test that mattered.
On Wednesday , I picked up Audrey and we headed to Glendale. Our trip that was originally going to start casually, got sped up due to there being a demonstration for the practical exam at 1 o'clock. So we sped there, got checked into our hotel and went and got something to eat.
I got to the kit demonstration at 12:45 and was happy with what the rental place showed me and tips they gave me. I checked the kit, got extra stuff and went back to the hotel. I was able to study for a while and Audrey read her Twilight book.
After about 2 hours, we decided to hit the Glendale mall which was across the street. It was quite a place. We really enjoyed going and walking around, shopping, hitting happy hour and getting cheesecake at the Cheesecake Factory.
We went back to the hotel and studied some more. Finally it was too late to stay up. We shut the TV off and I crashed. I had been a ball full of nerves all day and my body had had it!
Well, the sleep was short lived because I woke up at 3:45 in the morning and hit the books again. Audrey woke up too because even through she wasn't testing, she was totally supportive and wanted to get me thru this time.
We were at Starbucks at 5:45 and at the rental kit company at 6:35. Then we ran over to the State Board testing facility which opened at 6:50. I felt comfortable....well, as comfortable as I could feel, being that was taking a huge test! I felt ready because I had studied and studied.....I am talking hours and hours people! They let us in the building and it all started.
We started taking the actual test at 7:45. When the test started I started feeling the stress. I started sweating like no one's business. I was dripping in sweat. I don't think I could explain it any better than that! It was gross. It was so bad in fact, that my mascara started running and my head was itching. It was the most horrible memory! After I got into the swing of things, I relaxed a bit. Although I was still forgetting little things and not doing the most perfect job, I was on a mission to pass this freaking test!
It was finally over at noon. I was relieved, but kept replaying everything in my head. All the things I didn't do right...and on and on. At 12:25, I took my written test. That was even worse. I had taken so many tests online and was so comfortable with those, but these questions were nothing like that! I was stumped the whole time, but was comforted in the fact that I could re-take the test in Fresno if I needed to. When I walked outta there I was almost in tears. At that point I felt like a failure!
So Audrey was my little cheerleader and told me not to worry. We walked around, had some lunch and waited because the results of the test weren't available until 3:00. So what a terrible 2 hours that was. I called David a hundred times to ask him if he would still love me if I didn't pass, I was stressed and overwhelmed and my body was done!
At 3:00 I went into the waiting room and the results were there. I was the second name called. It was what I expected, three pages of information. When you pass you get your license which is one page, when you have three pages you failed! I looked at the first page and I could feel tears come to my eyes. I couldn't even look at it. I walked into the hall, where Audrey was waiting for me. I handed her the results and walked straight to the bathroom to release some tears. When I came out she gave me a big hug and told me that she was proud of me regardless of my passing or not.
We walked to the car, where I eventually broke down. I felt like I had let my family down and that I had worked so hard for nothing. Audrey made me feel better with encouraging words and my leftover cheesecake. We drove home and by the end of the trip it wasn't so bad. I guess I will have to try again and this time I have the upper hand because I know what to expect. I wish I didn't have to go thru the stress again, but sometimes you have to do things, not because you want to, but because you want to get somewhere in life. I just hope that this time, the results are positive and I can do some celebrating afterward!