I chose nursing not just to help people but to make a lasting difference in people's lives. The first time I injected insulin into my grandmother's stomach, I learned what compassion really meant. When I was a child, I spent countless amount of hours with my grandmother, who was fighting stage four diabetes. I still recall times when I would have to get up and make her breakfast because her ankles were too swollen for her to walk that morning, or having to untangle or find the kink in her nasal tubing. She would often tell me how she didn't know how she would manage without me. In those moments, I felt appreciated, and it gave me a sense of purpose, a feeling that pushes me to always treat others exactly how I treated her, with compassion, patience, care, and dignity. Helping my grandma made me feel like I was doing something right, something that mattered, and that I was making a difference in her life. Helping her made me realize that nursing isn't just passing out medicine and charting, but it's about empathy, patience, and being that someone when a person is in a vulnerable time. She sad-fully passed in 2021, but her strength and words still remind me that one day I can be a good nurse. After she passed, I didn't stop caring for other people. I started babysitting in my community, taking care of my younger family members and neighborhood kids who needed someone reliable to look after them, earning only five dollars an hour. I helped them with homework, dinner time, and just being someone they could trust. I found comfort in being there for people, even when I wasn't earning much money from it. It gave me a rewarding feeling knowing that I made their parents' lives less stressful and gave them one less thing to worry about. I also volunteered at my local Providence hospital, getting experience and seeing firsthand the impact that nurses really have on patients and families every single day. My time volunteering at the hospital, I got to observe a C-section on a woman whose baby was breached. Being in that room and in the middle of all the chaos and emotion overwhelmed me with the understanding of what it takes to really be in a hospital. Yes, I learned that you need to have compassion and give people dignity, but I also learned that you need to be brave, determined, strong, and selfless. When I become a nurse, I want to use my career to show younger generations that helping others is one of the most important and meaningful things you can do. My grandma showed me that kindness has power. I want to honor her memory by becoming the kind of nurse who makes everyone feel seen, heard, and cared for. Through nursing, I want to keep her spirit alive by spreading the same compassion she showed me every day.

I chose nursing not just to help people but to make a lasting difference in people's lives. The first time I injected insulin into my grandmother's stomach, I learned what compassion really meant. When I was a child, I spent countless amount of hours with my grandmother, who was fighting stage four diabetes. I still recall times when I would have to get up and make her breakfast because her ankles were too swollen for her to walk that morning, or having to untangle or find the kink in her nasal tubing. She would often tell me how she didn't know how she would manage without me. In those moments, I felt appreciated, and it gave me a sense of purpose, a feeling that pushes me to always treat others exactly how I treated her, with compassion, patience, care, and dignity. Helping my grandma made me feel like I was doing something right, something that mattered, and that I was making a difference in her life. Helping her made me realize that nursing isn't just passing out medicine and charting, but it's about empathy, patience, and being that someone when a person is in a vulnerable time. She sad-fully passed in 2021, but her strength and words still remind me that one day I can be a good nurse. After she passed, I didn't stop caring for other people. I started babysitting in my community, taking care of my younger family members and neighborhood kids who needed someone reliable to look after them, earning only five dollars an hour. I helped them with homework, dinner time, and just being someone they could trust. I found comfort in being there for people, even when I wasn't earning much money from it. It gave me a rewarding feeling knowing that I made their parents' lives less stressful and gave them one less thing to worry about. I also volunteered at my local Providence hospital, getting experience and seeing firsthand the impact that nurses really have on patients and families every single day. My time volunteering at the hospital, I got to observe a C-section on a woman whose baby was breached. Being in that room and in the middle of all the chaos and emotion overwhelmed me with the understanding of what it takes to really be in a hospital. Yes, I learned that you need to have compassion and give people dignity, but I also learned that you need to be brave, determined, strong, and selfless. When I become a nurse, I want to use my career to show younger generations that helping others is one of the most important and meaningful things you can do. My grandma showed me that kindness has power. I want to honor her memory by becoming the kind of nurse who makes everyone feel seen, heard, and cared for. Through nursing, I want to keep her spirit alive by spreading the same compassion she showed me every day.

I chose nursing not just to help people but to make a lasting difference in people's lives. The first time I injected insulin into my grandmother's stomach, I learned what compassion really meant. When I was a child, I spent countless amount of hours with my grandmother, who was fighting stage four diabetes. I still recall times when I would have to get up and make her breakfast because her ankles were too swollen for her to walk that morning, or having to untangle or find the kink in her nasal tubing. She would often tell me how she didn't know how she would manage without me. In those moments, I felt appreciated, and it gave me a sense of purpose, a feeling that pushes me to always treat others exactly how I treated her, with compassion, patience, care, and dignity. Helping my grandma made me feel like I was doing something right, something that mattered, and that I was making a difference in her life. Helping her made me realize that nursing isn't just passing out medicine and charting, but it's about empathy, patience, and being that someone when a person is in a vulnerable time. She sad-fully passed in 2021, but her strength and words still remind me that one day I can be a good nurse. After she passed, I didn't stop caring for other people. I started babysitting in my community, taking care of my younger family members and neighborhood kids who needed someone reliable to look after them, earning only five dollars an hour. I helped them with homework, dinner time, and just being someone they could trust. I found comfort in being there for people, even when I wasn't earning much money from it. It gave me a rewarding feeling knowing that I made their parents' lives less stressful and gave them one less thing to worry about. I also volunteered at my local Providence hospital, getting experience and seeing firsthand the impact that nurses really have on patients and families every single day. My time volunteering at the hospital, I got to observe a C-section on a woman whose baby was breached. Being in that room and in the middle of all the chaos and emotion overwhelmed me with the understanding of what it takes to really be in a hospital. Yes, I learned that you need to have compassion and give people dignity, but I also learned that you need to be brave, determined, strong, and selfless. When I become a nurse, I want to use my career to show younger generations that helping others is one of the most important and meaningful things you can do. My grandma showed me that kindness has power. I want to honor her memory by becoming the kind of nurse who makes everyone feel seen, heard, and cared for. Through nursing, I want to keep her spirit alive by spreading the same compassion she showed me every day.