The Same Fear, A Different Girl

January 23, 2026

Emily is taking the written exam for her cosmetology state board tomorrow. She’s nervous.

She took the practical exam last week and passed, and since then she’s been studying like crazy for the written portion. I talked to her on the phone tonight and I could hear the worry in her voice—not because she needs to be worried, but because she is.

She told me she’s been taking practice tests over and over again. Ones with 150 questions. She said she’s doing pretty well… but she’s still scared.

So I asked her how many she’s missing.

Can you guess how many she said?

Two.

She missed two out of 150.

She is silly.

It reminded me so much of when I took my Series 65 last year. I was sooooo scared—convinced that all the months of studying would somehow just fall right out of my head at the worst possible moment.

It didn’t happen to me.

And I am absolutely sure it won’t happen to her either.

She’s going to pass with flying colors.