You've prepared for quite awhile. In fact, you've just studied for weeks and months to take this exam. Sacrifice is an understatement. You've given up nights and weekends. You've given up friends and family, and practically your first born to study for this thing. You want to pass bad. Really bad - so you've put in the time to get the results.
And then you've sat in a room for 8 hours doing a brain-dump of everything you've shoved in there. You're time to shine has approached and you gave it all you got.
All of a sudden the exam is over. Poof. Where did 8 hours go? What's the first things you do when you finish the exam? Some of you have been there, some have not. Let's discuss.
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RELAX
The first you're going to do is drive home and your mind will be racing with all the questions that you were just solving. You'll be wondering if what you did was right or if what you did was horribly wrong. You're going to worry, or you will feel confident about what you but deep down you'll still question what you got. Was it enough to pass?
My advice to you is to RELAX! You've just spend a good chuck of you're life taking this exam. If you failed it wills till be there waiting for you. If you passed then you can rest assure that you still need to keep things going with PDH's and continuing education. Either way you're still a civil engineer that will be engaged in learning. My advice is to just try and start to decompress. Here are some ideas to help you do just that.
MOVIE TIME!
Yes, it is that time to binge on a Netflix series or go see a movie that you've been dying to see. I'm sure if you are married that you're wife has felt neglected for months so it's time to spend some time with her, blow throw some good entertainment to help you relax and just forget about the exam.
PLAY SOME GAMES
You've been neglecting some sweet games that have come out and your fiends have been dying to play with you. Yes, it's time to let down the guilt of playing versus studying and it's time to game it up for a bit. If there is any way to get that exam out of your head this is it. Enjoy some fun with your friends.
FAMILY TIME
Yes your wife and kids know that you've been gone for months at nights and weekends studying. It's time to do some fun things with them to let them know you are alive and that you still care. Tell your wife how much you love her and thank her for the support that she's given to help you reach this goal for yourself and your family. Go camping, make plans for a vacation; your weekends just feed up and you can do stuff now!
Tell your kids how much you've missed spending time with them at nights and weekends and promise to start doing more with them. They'll love you all that much more.
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, the point that I'm getting across here is that you've put in a lot of time and effort into an exam that you could possibly fail or pass. You need to not worry about it. Wait until you get that notice in a couple of weeks before you start making any plans to worry. Just relax and enjoy the hard work you've put into the exam. You deserve it.
What do you think? What things would you do or have you done to relax after taking the exam?