CPR Certification and Class Frustrations

Today was definitely an interesting day. I ended up sleeping until 2 PM, which honestly, I probably needed. I fell asleep at almost daybreak. One of the highlights of my day was getting to catch up with my great-aunt Mae. It was really nice to talk to her again.

Another big moment was taking my CPR certification class at school. I’m officially certified for the next two years! And on a positive note, when it’s time for me to renew, it’ll only cost me $12 if I do it through the school. Considering what this tuition is costing me, that’s definitely a blessing. Ty, the instructor, was great—I learned a lot from him.

But despite that win, I found myself overwhelmed again at school.

Miss Miller gave us a list to study on medical abbreviations several days ago, and I made flashcards, studying like crazy to prepare. Then today, we had a pop quiz. I was so excited bc I just knew that I was prepared! Low and behold, out of the 20 questions, only two were actually from the study guide. The rest? We had never even learned them.

I immediately shared my thoughts because, honestly, how are we being tested on things we’ve never been taught? Quite a few others in the class were complaining as well. Ms. Miller remained silent. I still took the test and did my best. We ended up going over the answers as a class, and somehow, I scored an A+ 100%. But it wasn’t because I actually knew the material—I just guessed and got lucky. And that’s what frustrated me the most.

After class, Miss Miller held me back to talk. She told me I’m an "overthinker" and explained that in the medical world, you have to be ready for anything. I explained to her.... I get that, I really do. But I want to go into the medical field feeling confident in what I know, not constantly second-guessing if I’m doing things right. Sure, I’ll never know everything, and I’ll always be learning, but there’s a difference between being prepared and being thrown into something blindly.

She also mentioned that I’m one of her most dedicated students—the one who’s always in class on time and always turns in assignments early. And while I appreciated that recognition, it made me even more frustrated. If she knows I’m serious about my education, why wouldn’t she make sure we’re actually being taught what we need to know? I’m not just here to check off boxes and pass exams—I want to understand the material and feel prepared for my career.

And if I’m being completely honest, although she has shown some improvement, I still have doubts about Miss Miller. I’ve already caught mistakes in some of the answers she’s given us on practice certification exams. Now, I’m finding it hard to trust anything she teaches. Some of the abbreviations she marked as correct today—I couldn’t even find them on Google. So, is she making this stuff up? Or is there something I’m missing?

Maybe that’s why she calls me an overthinker—because I question everything she says. But can anyone blame me? If I can’t trust my instructor, I have to double-check everything.

I think I’ll talk to Marilyn about it and see what she thinks. Maybe I do need to work on this, or maybe my concerns are valid. Either way, today left me with a lot to think about.

But to end on a positive note, I stopped at the Family Dollar near the shelter on my way home from school. I had never been to this location before and I walked in about 20 minutes before closing just to grab some toilet paper and butter.

The cashier was one of the nicest and sweetest workers I’ve encountered in a long time. Despite it being late at night, she greeted me so warmly—it was truly refreshing. I’ll definitely feel more comfortable shopping there from now on.