A Day in the Life of...Kelly!: MISS PHR!

Ever since I graduated from college in 2000, I have wanted to become a PHR. What does this mean, you ask? Pretty Hot Rocker? NO! It stands for Professional in Human Resources. For those of you not in the HR field, lemme give you some background. An accountant is just an accountant. BUT if that accountant takes teh test and becomes a CPA....well that's a whole better thing right??? That's what this is like for me. You have to have been in your profession for 2 years and then you have to take the test. The dreaded test. So...my 2 year anniversary was April 4 (Thank you Bar-S Foods), and I was already preparing for my test. I ordered the series of books in December ($600...check), signed up for a class at the Western Technology Center for a semester to help me prepare ($100...check), and signed up for the test ($250...check). There are only two windows a year that you can take the test. Mayish and Decemberish. I KNEW I didn't want to wait until december, so I signed up to take the test on May 4. I went to the class, studied, studied, studied, and ended up postponing my test until May 14. I went up to OKC the night before and spent the whole day and night studying on my grandparents couch. The thing about the test is that it's not ONLY whats in the books. It can include all types of policies, laws, judgements, and common law that is going on in the HR field. So....needless to say...I was stressed. The morning of the test, I woke up, and went right back to studying. I took a break to take a shower and get ready, and then back to the computer doing flashcards and quizzes. The test was at noon at the Prometric Testing Center in OKC. I was NER-VOUS!!! My hands were shaking as I walked into the room where others were taking other tests, I was assigned to computer #11. That's my lucky number...so I was feeling a little better. (Soccer number from high school). The test is 225 questions, and at about the 125 question mark, I was so frustrated and near tears...I almost walked out. I felt as if I didn't know anything, and didn't want to waste my time. But, I forced myself to finish, and did not feel good when I walked out. I told the girls working there that I would see them again in December to retake the test. One of the girls was printing off my form and looked right at me and said "How much are you willing to bet." I gave my classic..."Shut...up." She said, "No really...you passed. I wouldn't look you in the eye if you didn't." I was sleep deprived, stressed, and nervous, and I started crying...CRYING!!! I'm such a nerd. Anyhoo...to prove it...I even took a picture JUST so I could blog about it...