Heidi Louise Belnap, R.N.

After what seems like forever... I am happy to say I am an R.N. I took my nursing boards yesterday and received confirmation tonight that I passed. For those that don't know anything about NCLEX(which are the boards you take to be a nurse), it's a standardized computer test that can last for up to 6 hours. You can have anywhere from 75-265 questions where all the answers are right, you just have to pick the best answer. It's the most mentally taxing thing I have ever experienced. Lucky for me, I got 256 questions(I hope you can sense the sarcasm here). It took me 5 hours and 45 minutes to complete. When the computer shut off, I cried.

In all honesty, it hasn't sunk in yet and probably won't until I start my first job that I am finally A NURSE. Being a nurse is something I have wanted since I was 5 years old. I never thought I would see this day. Nursing school, especially my accelerated program, was the hardest thing I have ever done, and I am grateful to all my family, teachers, classmates, and friends for being there for me and helping me get through it. I know I couldn't have made it without your love and support. I think I kept Kleenex in business from all the tissues I used from crying so much while in school. Nursing school was an emotional rollercoaster of sorts.