All Over but the Waiting

Well, I took the exam this morning. I am not sure how I did. It’s the type of exam where there are multiple answers that could be correct. Sometimes, you feel like the questions are something like…

1. What principle dictates that records of different origins be kept separate to preserve their context?

A. Provenance
B. Respect des fonds
C. Anthropic
D. Your old high school

You know how those questions are. There are two answers that seem like they just are not right, and then there are two that seem nearly synonymous. (Just to clarify, this is NOT a question from the test, and the first two terms above (ie. principle of provenance and respect des fonds) ARE synonymous. )

Which brings me to why I think the ACA asks you to bring three pencils to the test when every other standardized test you take in your lifetime only requires two. Simply put, you will have broken the first two in frustration within the first thirty questions, and you will use the third to lobotomize yourself before the exam ends. Only those who are able to leave with full mental capacity survive to be certified.

I’m only kidding. Actually, I am glad I took the exam. It let me see where I had holes in my knowledge, and it reminded me of areas that I do have a pretty good handle on. I am not sure how I did, and I won’t know for six weeks, but I am OK with that. Either way, I won’t be terribly surprised. I think I knew a good many of the answers, but I know there were many I did not know.

I will sleep well tonight because I know I did the best I could. If I didn’t pass, I won’t see it as failure. I’ll just get it right next year. If I did pass, I won’t stop studying and learning, because this is the vocation to which God has led me.

Thanks for all who passed along words of encouragement while I prepared for this exam.