As a middle child, I’ve resided making “middle child“ a defining part of my personality, yet I’ve come to appreciate how being in the middle has shaped who I am and who I aspire to be. For example, sitting on the sidelines as a middle child, I tend to be a better listener, more open to compromise, and process things before making any decisions. I also argue less, although this doesn’t mean that I’m any less passionate about my position. Rather, I prefer discussing problems through calm communication rather than becoming angry and vocal. And lastly, being frequently overlooked as the middle child has granted me the ability to think before I speak, which has led to wiser decisions…most of the time. I didn’t always know I wanted to be a nurse. At different times, I imagined myself a teacher, a baker, and even a paramedic, but after the passing of the sweetest nurse at my doctor’s office, I realized I was being pulled to nursing. Nurse Janet was the kindest, gentlest, and most caring person I’ve ever met, and she’s forever changed my life. Like most children, I dreaded getting shots, so when I had to get them, she was very caring and understanding. She would tell jokes to distract me, and I would always get a fun Care Bears or Disney Princess bandage. Her nurturing spirit has led to my interest in medicine, and through research of my own, I became interested in the field of nursing. During COVID, I found myself on YouTube watching videos by Doctor Mike, a family medicine physician, which, through more research of my own, led to my decision that I wanted to specialize in family medicine, with the goal of earning my bachelor’s and later my master’s to become a family medicine nurse practitioner. While there have been times I may have doubted my commitment to nursing, and been afraid I may not be cut out for it, I look back at my classes and see all of the preparation I’ve been doing. I’ve taken honors physics, honors chemistry, and honors biology, and achieved high A’s in all of those classes. I’ve also taken both levels of Anatomy& Physiology that my school offers, and achieved high A’s in those classes. Looking at these classes I’ve taken, I feel confidently prepared for the beginning of my nursing education. Also, as my late grandmother's health began to take a turn this past fall, considerable time was dedicated in various ways to tend to her needs. I had the opportunity to be a primary caregiver for her at her home, keeping track of her blood test results, medications, mental acuity, and physical mobility. Reflecting back, I now realize that as I spent many days sitting with her during numerous hospital stays, the opportunity presented itself to interact with the caring nurses. Before I realized it, any lingering doubts about my future as a nurse vanished as I found myself drawn into each conversation with them.

I didn’t always know I wanted to be a nurse. At different times, I imagined myself a teacher, a baker, and even a paramedic, but after the passing of the sweetest nurse at my doctor’s office, I realized I was being pulled to nursing. Nurse Janet was the kindest, gentlest, and most caring person I’ve ever met, and she’s forever changed my life. Like most children, I dreaded getting shots, so when I had to get them, she was very caring and understanding. She would tell jokes to distract me, and I would always get a fun Care Bears or Disney Princess bandage. Her nurturing spirit has led to my interest in medicine, and through research of my own, I became interested in the field of nursing. During COVID, I found myself on YouTube watching videos by Doctor Mike, a family medicine physician, which, through more research of my own, led to my decision that I wanted to specialize in family medicine, with the goal of earning my bachelor’s and later my master’s to become a family medicine nurse practitioner. While there have been times I may have doubted my commitment to nursing, and been afraid I may not be cut out for it, I look back at my classes and see all of the preparation I’ve been doing. I’ve taken honors physics, honors chemistry, and honors biology, and achieved high A’s in all of those classes. I’ve also taken both levels of Anatomy& Physiology that my school offers, and achieved high A’s in those classes. Looking at these classes I’ve taken, I feel confidently prepared for the beginning of my nursing education. Also, as my late grandmother's health began to take a turn this past fall, considerable time was dedicated in various ways to tend to her needs. I had the opportunity to be a primary caregiver for her at her home, keeping track of her blood test results, medications, mental acuity, and physical mobility. She always said I was going to be a fantastic nurse and that she wanted me to be her nurse one day. Reflecting back, I now realize that as I spent many days sitting with her during numerous hospital stays, the opportunity presented itself to interact with the caring nurses. Before I realized it, any lingering doubts about my future as a nurse vanished as I found myself drawn into each conversation with them. While she was in hospice, I found myself holding her hand and promising that I would make her proud and be the good nurse she knew I could be. I found out about this scholarship on bold.org, and my information matched me with this scholarship.

As a middle child, I’ve resided making “middle child“ a defining part of my personality, yet I’ve come to appreciate how being in the middle has shaped who I am and who I aspire to be. For example, sitting on the sidelines as a middle child, I tend to be a better listener, more open to compromise, and process things before making any decisions. I also argue less, although this doesn’t mean that I’m any less passionate about my position. Rather, I prefer discussing problems through calm communication rather than becoming angry and vocal. And lastly, being frequently overlooked as the middle child has granted me the ability to think before I speak, which has led to wiser decisions…most of the time. I didn’t always know I wanted to be a nurse. At different times, I imagined myself a teacher, a baker, and even a paramedic, but after the passing of the sweetest nurse at my doctor’s office, I realized I was being pulled to nursing. Nurse Janet was the kindest, gentlest, and most caring person I’ve ever met, and she’s forever changed my life. Like most children, I dreaded getting shots, so when I had to get them, she was very caring and understanding. She would tell jokes to distract me, and I would always get a fun Care Bears or Disney Princess bandage. Her nurturing spirit has led to my interest in medicine, and through research of my own, I became interested in the field of nursing. During COVID, I found myself on YouTube watching videos by Doctor Mike, a family medicine physician, which, through more research of my own, led to my decision that I wanted to specialize in family medicine, with the goal of earning my bachelor’s and later my master’s to become a family medicine nurse practitioner. While there have been times I may have doubted my commitment to nursing, and been afraid I may not be cut out for it, I look back at my classes and see all of the preparation I’ve been doing. I’ve taken honors physics, honors chemistry, and honors biology, and achieved high A’s in all of those classes. I’ve also taken both levels of Anatomy& Physiology that my school offers, and achieved high A’s in those classes. Looking at these classes I’ve taken, I feel confidently prepared for the beginning of my nursing education. Also, as my late grandmother's health began to take a turn this past fall, considerable time was dedicated in various ways to tend to her needs. I had the opportunity to be a primary caregiver for her at her home, keeping track of her blood test results, medications, mental acuity, and physical mobility. Reflecting back, I now realize that as I spent many days sitting with her during numerous hospital stays, the opportunity presented itself to interact with the caring nurses. Before I realized it, any lingering doubts about my future as a nurse vanished as I found myself drawn into each conversation with them.