College, it seems like it all went by so fast. It feels like I was in a daze for most of it. I was not a party girl at ALL. In fact if I could go back I would do so much differently. I would get more involved in student life, maybe pledge a sorority, and I would major in something useful. Don't get me wrong being a nursing major was absolutely essential to becoming a nurse, but sometimes I wish I had majored in something else that would have been more broad and I could use beyond the field of nursing. So how did I get here?
From the time we are little we are bombarded with the question of, "what do you want to be when you grow up?" Seriously at age 5 who really knows what career they want for the rest of their lives. Some people, including myself, still don't have it written in stone. I initially had plans to be a doctor, a dermatologist, because I suffered with horrible acne as a teen and had an awesome dermatologist. If I'm ever brave enough or can find the pictures I will show you. I was talking to my aunt and cousin who were both nurses and they told me that it would be hard to be a doctor and live a good life and have a family.
So, I decided that I would do nursing because surely that would give me the balance I needed right? WRONG! If I could go back and slap 17 year old me I would tell her to BE A DOCTOR! Guys, that was one of my first major life lessons: never let someone else's experience dictate YOUR life decisions. I got 3 semesters into the nursing program and realized that this is NOT what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. I talk to my dad who recommended that instead of changing my major I finish nursing and I could always go back if I wanted. So that is what I did. I finished nursing school and immediately enrolled back in school to be pre med.
Remember those nursing courses? Yep, almost none of them would count towards the requirements for medical school. I was back at square one đ¤Śđ˝ââď¸. Guys I was a new nurse making very little money, $18.55 to be exact, and I was back in school. I worked during the day. I worked at night. I worked on the floor. I worked in the I.C.U., and was going to class during the week. It was HARD! It only took a few semesters of being a broke student again to realize debt was mounting. One good thing I did get out of going back to school was that I met the guy I am currently datingđ but that is a story for another time.
Guys, I finished all my pre reqs but chickened out on my MCAT. I would not study because I felt like if I studied and didn't get in I would be devastated. This was my second major life lesson: Don't let fear keep you from trying. I had the support of my nursing friends and family and I did not want to let any of them down. My boyfriend had a sister who was a nurse practitioner so he suggested that maybe being a nurse practitioner would give me the best of both worlds. Guess what I did....Yep, I went to NP school.
You would THINK by now I would have learned to follow my own mind but NOPE! I đNow, don't get me wrong. I have loved PARTS of my nursing career and nursing has given me so much and made me a more well rounded person but the POLITICS of healthcare make the field of nursing very difficult.
While in NP school I started travel nursing and that was probably the best time of my life but I think I will leave that til next time.
Next:Travel days