Exams

I'm completing a Transport Canada Commercial Pilot License - Aeroplane. There are two testing components, a written test, which must be completed first and a flight test. Yesterday I completed the written test. In case you are wondering I passed, but that's not what this is about.

I completed a four-year degree and that involves writing a lot of exams. They all went the same. Somewhere between one and two hours before the exam I would start to get nervous. It wasn't so much a scared feeling, more of an anxious feeling. Once the exam started I would settle in and get it done. When it would end, I would wind down and always find myself rather tired. It happened over and over again.

Yesterday, it was like I was back in university. The same feelings at the same times. It had been a long time since I had written an exam of that nature and I had forgotten exactly how I reacted but it sure felt familiar when it all started happening again.

It seems that will always be how I react to exams. I don't see this as a bad thing. Maybe its good. I have often told people that if important events don't make you a little bit nervous then they probably aren't worth doing. That's probably true in this case.

It can be easy to slip into a comfortable routine. I was like that until I undertook this project to upgrade my pilot's licence. Now I do feel a lot more alive. I feel like there is a bit of unknown coming and challenges to face. That's a good reason to get up in the morning.

Now the exam is over, the next big rush should come when I do the flight test. I'm hoping the weather and schedule will allow me to be ready for that in early July. Once again I will get nervous before and tired after. I'm ok with it, maybe because it reminds me of when I was younger or maybe because it may open a door to a new adventure some day.