In Recovery

I'm not even sure what to say. My body and mind are working to return to normal functioning. The closest I can get you to understanding what I just did is to basically explain that for the past 168 hours I sat to a computer and typed my heart out.

When the first test day finally arrived, after a breakfast of champions, I sat at my makeshift study corner, and I anxiously awaited the arrival of the email with the dreaded questions. 10am came, no test. 10:15, no test. I got nervous, and a little frustrated, because I just wanted to get started...so I could get done.

On day one, I organized myself and made a plan to conquer the exam. I pushed through the first two days in pretty much the same fashion; I outlined and then executed the History and Philosophy section then went to bed at around 12am, but little did I know, those were going to be the better days of this experience.

All I can say is after day three of sitting in my apartment, I started to slowly lose it. By day four, I cried.

Around the midpoint of the process, I couldn't eat, my nerves were shot, and I wasn't seeing my bed before 4am. There was this strange dance between determination and concession; a few times, I seriously thought the test was going to win.

But I pushed through. I realized that the only thing in the way of the other side of this exam was me. Either I was going to do it, or I wasn't.

A few weeks ago, Lawrence gave me a beautiful prayer rug, and every morning during the exam I spent time with God, asking to be shored up with the energy, wisdom, and strength to make it through. Well, I'm here, able to celebrate the victory.

While I would have much preferred to never have to do 10 months of work in a mere week, I definitely learned a lot about myself as a scholar, and a conqueror. I really can proudly say that I fought my way to this finish line with weaponry that I didn't even know I had.

But, no sleep for the weary. In just a few days I'll be back in the classroom working to make it happen all over again; at the end of next summer I'll have Comprehensive Exams to overcome. In the meantime, however, I'm going to allow my body to recover, so it can get ready for the next leg of this journey.

Year two, #leggo!