Dress Well to Test Well

 Angel!! Why oh why do you make me pose in the liquor aisle???

I’ve always been a big believer in “Dress well, Test well.” After all, I’m happier when I love the clothes I’m wearing, so if I wear a lovely outfit on exam day, I’ll be happier about taking my exams. 

So, when exam week came around at the end of every semester in college, you would typically find me in dresses and heels. Some of my classmates might be pulling all-nighters and showing up to tests in their pajamas, but I was convinced that I tested better on a full night of sleep and while wearing my Sunday best.

Since I’m no longer in college, exam week is no longer a part of my life. However, I continue to carry the “Dress well, Test well” idea with me, though I may apply it in a slightly unusual way. You see, I view going to the dentist and the doctor as equivalent to tests. After all, aren’t those visits called exams? And man, do I know how to ace those exams! It’s very rare that anyone can even convince me to go to the doctor in the first place, but once I’m there….well, I don’t mean to brag, but I know all the right answers for that entire three page health history form that they make you fill out.

Angel was slightly horrified the first time he took me to the doctor and he let me fill out my own health history form.  As he looked it over, he pointed out, “Rachel, you checked NO for chronic pain. The reason we’re here is because of chronic pain.”

 

You see, I view choosing all of the right answers on the intake form as more important than actually telling the truth on the intake form. And of course, the right answers are the ones that make you appear the most healthy.

 

Angel disagrees with me on that, but whatever. 

This week, I had to go to the dentist, so of course I dressed up for the occasion. This tradition of dressing up is one I love. Just like final exams, I dread attending doctor and dentist appointments, but being dressed up helps me feel a little happier about the day. I would have worn my red high heels with this outfit, and then I would have felt even more awesome, but cowboy boots were more appropriate for the steadily accumulating snow.

And you know what? I aced the test. The dentist told me I had awesome teeth. Must have been the Shabby Apple dress. Do you practice any form of "Dress well, Test well"? If not, give it a try. If you don't expect to have a great day due to an annoying meeting or some other challenge that you really don't feel like facing--put on your very favorite outfit. It might help, just a little.