Today, August 12, 2017, is the day my best friend, Claire, and I passed our practical CPR skills, despite being nervous and our anxiety shooting up beyond normal levels. That's me and Claire in the photo above an hour or so before we were called to join the group who were taking the CPR test. We've been there since 9:30 AM, so we were not happy campers to be awake that early on a Saturday morning.

It was really nerve wracking as we watched some people pass or fail the practical exam; sometimes it was obvious by the look on their face if they failed. Passing the CPR skills test would allow us to be accepted into this free EMT program. The class time is offered one day a week from 9 am to 5 pm; pure torture. That's not even a question about it. One day of class is equivalent to 2 weeks of material. For those who are still taking classes or who have taken a class that's lasted a whole day know that one day is equivalent to 2 weeks worth of material.

I'm not even going to lie, we are in over our heads here. We have had absolutely no prior experience nor interest, yet here we are. But opportunities have presented itself so it's just wise to take advantage of it. It's new territory, sure, but what's a little challenge if it's interesting enough.

Just to give a brief background, Claire and I met in a math class in the summer of 2011. She was my college bully but as you can see, we're practically family. Fast forwarding a little, she's been out of school for 6 years and just now only started going back. The EMT program is her motivation. For her or anyone, to start studying again even if it's as easy as CPR, is going to be extremely difficult.

The mind doesn't work the same when it hasn't been used academically in a while. It's like entering college and taking the required math classes. Once you finish them, a few semesters later, you find out that there's more classes to take. There's a slight panic going on now because you've more than likely forgotten what to do and now you don't know what the hell you're doing.

So for two weeks, we busted our asses studying, her more than me, though. We were exhausted, sleepy, and barely had the energy to keep up with daily life.

It wasn't too difficult for me considering I did the CPR test about 5-6 years ago but for her, it was a bit of a challenge. Regardless, I didn't let her study alone. It might've been cruel of me to force her to study the material over and over but the end result was worth it.

Claire is the one that suggested I write about our experience and so, I am. She wanted to simply say that regardless of age or how long you've been out of school, if you keep at it and have at least one person to believe in your success, it's extremely possible to achieve your goal.

From my half, help your friend. I went into this program for the reason of having experience and a job option in the future, but because I knew she was going to have a hard time, I decided to take it seriously so not only she could reach her goal to be an EMT but I also reach mine.

Make some sacrifices. It's only temporary because at the end, it'll be worth it. Don't worry about the people who act bitter just because you couldn't make their parties which happened to land on the same day as a test. Those kinds of people are jealous because you're moving up in your life; you've surpassed their level and they don't like that, so they'll only support you for so long. Drop them. You don't need that kind of negativity in your life. Trust me, you'll have the support whether it's from your closest friends or family. Keep moving forward and never stop. You'll get there, I promise.