It’s crazy to think March is almost over already. To be honest with you I felt a little (a lot?) depressed at my stagnant life where I started to lose interest in things I used to love and felt tired all the time despite not doing anything, but I know it’s entirely self-induced so I don’t look for anyone’s pity.

So…I had been stressing over the OAT for months so you’re probably curious how I did. Well, let’s just say I did better than I expected but to be more competitive for a better chance I want to improve my scores. I did particularly well in biology and reading comprehension – the two things I love most, so at least that matches my expectations. Surprisingly I did either average or above average on the rest (organic chem, general chem, physics)…except the lowest score that desperately needs improvement is, of course, math. My strongest point has been writing and my weakest has been math ever since I started learning. My overall score and my science scores are good but my math score is bogging me down, so I’m going to take this opportunity to improve in math and hopefully bring everything else up to even better scores as well.

It was a crazy 5 hour test with only one 15 minute break – a break I literally only had 2 minutes left to spare (after having to check out, bathroom, eat a snack & water, and check in again) when I went back to my seat. At the end of the day I had a crazy migraine but it felt fantastic to be done.

I was familiar with the wet-erase board & marker format (no paper + pencil) and the completely computerized test, so that was good.

They were extremely strict about check in and check out procedures. I had to lock my possessions in a locker, have my picture taken, my ID checked, my credit card checked, sign a paper, take off my jacket, turn all my pockets inside out, lift my pants up above my ankles, roll up my long-sleeved shirt, and get checked by a metal detector. And of course, you are recorded while taking your test. So there’s no cheating here.

I’m surprised I did average on one section because time is a huge factor on the test and there is just not enough time. At 5 minutes left for one section I decided it was time to make educated guesses. Well even my educated guesses took too long and I was left with 1 minute left – so then I decided it was time to blindly fill in the answers at the very least. Well 30 seconds left, and I was still clicking in an answer and then clicking next. It takes more time than you think – and so my time expired before I even got to fill in random answers for all my questions. LOL so that means I left a whole bunch blank and yet I still did average on the section…if I can just manage time better I know I can improve…or at least I hope I can. Anyway, I wised up for the next section and realized a quicker way to do it – press the letter (a, b, c, d, or e) on the keyboard and keep the cursor hovered over the “next” button to be quicker. Wish I thought of that earlier.

Well, at least now studying will be much easier on me since I know what to study, I have all my materials prepared already, and I have gone through the material at least once. Now besides studying, I’m on a job search and hoping to throw some volunteer work in there, too. I spent a long time fixing my pitiful & outdated resume and it depressed the heck out of me. If a career-related job doesn’t come my way (which it most likely will not, with my zero experience), I’ll just try my best to find a food-service or retail job and tutoring to get some cash, people skills, and work experience.

I’m watching this anime show that focuses heavily on hikikomori (people with extreme social withdrawal) with my boyfriend and it makes me think that I am an antisocial NEET (not in employment, education, or training) but he adamantly argues that I am at least studying on my own, trying to seek work, and definitely not antisocial.  Sometimes, I’m not so sure. I say that half jokingly and half seriously. ha ha…