THIS IS IT! 

It has ALL come down to this!!

Liberation Day is finally upon us!!! (Well, upon me that is.)

My performance on tomorrow's 8-hour long, 280 question exam will be the result of all the endless studying I've committed damn near all of my waking hours to these past five weeks. Even more so, it'll be a reflection of all the knowledge that I've gained ever since I first stepped foot into medical school almost two years ago. I sincerely hope that my performance tomorrow accurately depicts just how hard I've worked for this exam…I haven't studied this intensely for any other test in my entire life. When I tell you I've sacrificed almost every waking hour these past five weeks for this test, I literally mean it. I'm talking about waking up at around 7:15 AM each morning, doing practice questions and reviewing answers until lunchtime, then studying whatever material I needed to get through for the day up until like 10:30 PM. Then I would be asleep a little after 11 PM. Granted, I definitely took breaks here and there for various things like the gym, grocery shopping, running errands, etc. But for the most part, I've been grinding. There were times where I didn't even know what day it was, because I was literally doing the same thing every single day. It was like I was in my own little world…I would sometimes forget that life was happening all around me as I continued to study the endless droves of material in front of me. I even got pranked on April Fools' Day because I forgot it was April Fools' Day! And I'm never one to fall so hard for a prank. SMH. Hell, a season literally changed while I was in my study block! I didn't realize it was officially Spring until like a week ago. It's crazy how fast time can move when you're intensely focused on one thing.

But alas, my Step Study Block is officially coming to an end! It honestly wasn't horrible or anything overall, but I sure am glad that I'll be able to move on with my life very soon! And I couldn't be more excited! Okay I'm lying. I'm not even excited right now. I actually have a stale face on as I'm typing this sentence. I'm not allowing myself to come even close to excitement until I leave the testing center tomorrow afternoon. Right now, I'm fiercely focused on the mission, which is to give it my all plus some on Step 1. As I've said before, I'm going to attack the exam with 110% effort and as long as I know I've done my absolute best, I'll be comfortable knowing that the score I'll eventually receive is the score I was meant to have. Only after I walk out of the Prometric Center tomorrow will I do heel-clicks and screams of praise and all that. But until then, concentration is key.

With that said, I'm going to end this post and relax for the rest of the day. I spent all morning reviewing the last-minute material that I believed was relevant, so I'm now at peace with resting my mind for tomorrow. Trying to continue studying at this point would be futile, because then I would just go on a never-ending cycle of trying to review things I've already reviewed 156 times. I have complete faith that I've learned everything that I need to know at this point. If, by any chance, I come across something tomorrow that I'm not too familiar with, I'm confident that the test-taking skills I've been sharpening throughout this study period will help guide me towards the best answer choice. I'm also glad that I took the time a couple days ago to actually drive over to the testing center in order to get a feel for the place. Knowing exactly what to expect when I arrive at the center tomorrow morning has helped put me at even greater ease about taking this exam.

Okay, I'm actually ending this post now. Wish me luck!

And thank you for all of your prayers, I GREATLY appreciate each of you!!

Have a spectacular week! Lord knows I'm about to have one!

“Trust yourself. You know more than you think you do.” – Dr. Benjamin Spock

– Black Man, M.D.