As a full-time single mom, full-time employee and full-time nursing student I have become very creative at time management. Let me begin by saying I have “mom guilt” 90% of the time. I feel that I am giving school and my job the time and energy my kids deserve. I then reassure myself that if it were not for the job, they wouldn’t eat. If it were not for me showing my determination in school, they wouldn’t be as resilient as they are. I make my schedule work by eating on the go and sleeping only when necessary. I know that doesn’t sound like the best way to cope but, I only have one year left and then I’ll be back to normal. That is what I keep telling myself. When it comes to spending time with the kids, I pick one day (Thursday night) where we have dinner together and have family game night. It is better that no days at all. To ensure I have time to do this, I will go into work an hour earlier on these days just so I don’t get stuck in traffic. I also don’t bother cooking a real meal. We usually will eat corndogs and fries, something we I can just throw in the oven while I shower. I manage to get some studying done while they are at practices. We have an agreement that as long as I am attentive completely during their games/performances, I can sit in the car during practice to make flashcards, study, listen to lectures, etc. Also, they know I don’t have much time to make home-cooked meals so, when I do I go BIG! I make servings for at least triple our family size. This ensures that the kids have leftovers the days I am too exhausted. It also allows me the option to freeze half of the meal and use it for a later date. We also make sure we have therapy sessions at least once a month individually. This allows us to vent without judgement about our each other, our lifestyle, or anything else that may be bothering us. It makes sure we stay mentally and emotionally healthy. My children keep me motivated to complete my degree. I have been chasing this dream as long as they both have been alive. So, they are well aware that I love nursing and I do not believe in giving up. If I stop now after all this time, what does that teach them? I do not want them to believe that their dreams are unattainable. So, I have to complete mines. I have always taught and will continue to teach them that “Tough times don’t last. Tough people do.” I have considered and actually stopped going to school many times. It became too much for me to handle. Sometimes it was because I didn’t have the tuition; other times I didn’t have a babysitter. I once stopped because of an abusive relationship (with the kids father). This has been ten years in the making. I’ve never before been so close to finishing as I am now. I am extremely proud of myself for sticking it out and continuing to get back up each time I was knocked down. My most challenging experience is becoming overwhelmed. I am often stretched too thin and feel like I have taken on too much. I want my dream of nursing. Working is not an option; I must take care of my family. As a single mom, I am all my kids have. Their father is not involved at all. Having so much on my plate and all my family being back in Tennessee is hard. I have little to no babysitters. I can’t go to my Mom’s house on Sunday for dinner. I do not have anyone I could move in with to save money and just focus on finishing school without working. It is challenging being in Texas alone and being responsible for so much. I make sure that I talk to this with my therapist. She will usually suggestion me taking some time for myself and so calming techniques. So, far we have come up with a monthly massage. I really look forward to those! She also suggested “just letting it out.” This allows me to cry in the shower for as long as I need to. Then, once the water turns off, I pop back into reality. Crying in the shower allows me to be vulnerable and human even though my kids think I’m SuperMom. My most rewarding experience is influencing my daughter. She now wants to become a geriatric nurse. She has been taking care of her immobile grandmother for the two summers. She loves to help care for her elders. She told me last summer that she wants to do it for a living when she is older. I cried. I was humbled. You would think that she would want to be like Michelle Obama or Simone Biles but, no its me that she is looking up to. That means the world to me.

As a full-time single mom, full-time employee and full-time nursing student I have become very creative at time management. Let me begin by saying I have “mom guilt” 90% of the time. I feel that I am giving school and my job the time and energy my kids deserve. I then reassure myself that if it were not for the job, they wouldn’t eat. If it were not for me showing my determination in school, they wouldn’t be as resilient as they are. I make my schedule work by eating on the go and sleeping only when necessary. I know that doesn’t sound like the best way to cope but, I only have one year left and then I’ll be back to normal. That is what I keep telling myself. When it comes to spending time with the kids, I pick one day (Thursday night) where we have dinner together and have family game night. It is better that no days at all. To ensure I have time to do this, I will go into work an hour earlier on these days just so I don’t get stuck in traffic. I also don’t bother cooking a real meal. We usually will eat corndogs and fries, something we I can just throw in the oven while I shower. I manage to get some studying done while they are at practices. We have an agreement that as long as I am attentive completely during their games/performances, I can sit in the car during practice to make flashcards, study, listen to lectures, etc. Also, they know I don’t have much time to make home-cooked meals so, when I do I go BIG! I make servings for at least triple our family size. This ensures that the kids have leftovers the days I am too exhausted. It also allows me the option to freeze half of the meal and use it for a later date. We also make sure we have therapy sessions at least once a month individually. This allows us to vent without judgement about our each other, our lifestyle, or anything else that may be bothering us. It makes sure we stay mentally and emotionally healthy. My children keep me motivated to complete my degree. I have been chasing this dream as long as they both have been alive. So, they are well aware that I love nursing and I do not believe in giving up. If I stop now after all this time, what does that teach them? I do not want them to believe that their dreams are unattainable. So, I have to complete mines. I have always taught and will continue to teach them that “Tough times don’t last. Tough people do.” I have considered and actually stopped going to school many times. It became too much for me to handle. Sometimes it was because I didn’t have the tuition; other times I didn’t have a babysitter. I once stopped because of an abusive relationship (with the kids father). This has been ten years in the making. I’ve never before been so close to finishing as I am now. I am extremely proud of myself for sticking it out and continuing to get back up each time I was knocked down. My most challenging experience is becoming overwhelmed. I am often stretched too thin and feel like I have taken on too much. I want my dream of nursing. Working is not an option; I must take care of my family. As a single mom, I am all my kids have. Their father is not involved at all. Having so much on my plate and all my family being back in Tennessee is hard. I have little to no babysitters. I can’t go to my Mom’s house on Sunday for dinner. I do not have anyone I could move in with to save money and just focus on finishing school without working. It is challenging being in Texas alone and being responsible for so much. I make sure that I talk to this with my therapist. She will usually suggestion me taking some time for myself and so calming techniques. So, far we have come up with a monthly massage. I really look forward to those! She also suggested “just letting it out.” This allows me to cry in the shower for as long as I need to. Then, once the water turns off, I pop back into reality. Crying in the shower allows me to be vulnerable and human even though my kids think I’m SuperMom. My most rewarding experience is influencing my daughter. She now wants to become a geriatric nurse. She has been taking care of her immobile grandmother for the two summers. She loves to help care for her elders. She told me last summer that she wants to do it for a living when she is older. I cried. I was humbled. You would think that she would want to be like Michelle Obama or Simone Biles but, no its me that she is looking up to. That means the world to me.

I feel that I can make a positive impact on my community by bridging the gap. I come from a poverty-stricken neighborhood filled with teen pregnancy, drugs and violence. Many people in that type of community feel left out or they are afraid of the healthcare system. They are untrusting of it and many times this leads to avoiding doctor visits, ignoring a continuous health issue or using "herbs or old home remedies" instead of seeking medical help regularly. Now that I am a part of the healthcare community, I am passionate about changing that narrative. I want all people, especially those at and below poverty level to know that we are not the enemy. I think that being able to relate to them in many ways will help me to be welcomed. I was too a single mother and my father was on drugs my whole life. My grandmother had "the sugar" (diabetes) and many were taught that diseases like these are inevitable for these people. It is not, with proper preventative healthcare and education, we can change the life expectancy for these people. I plan on leading the way with bright, new ideas to change these communities for the better! Some of my ideas will include community involvement efforts, farmer's markets, mobile healthcare villages, etc. I am inspired each day by my children. I have to work double as hard to attend nursing school full-time and work full-time while being a single mom. But, every time I look into their eyes I see a reason to keep pushing. I want them to have better eating habits than I did as a kid, a healthier lifestyle and I want to break the generational misconceptions about heath in our community. The children are indeed our future. If we, as a community, can change the views of the adults and instill some better values within the children, we just might be able to see real change. I think that in order to do this the healthcare community must be vigilante and focused. So, the topics that I would like to focus on would be healthy eating habits, routine exercise and less screen-time. I think that I could start a community program that would include all these as well as suggestions from the community leaders. I also feel that we listen as much as we teach because healthcare is all about caring for others. We are here to take care of the people and their voices are vital to the success of my community. Getting the Parks & Recreation Dept of the city involved would be ideal. Having useable and nice outside parks for these neighborhoods would do a great deal in helping children cut back on their screen-time.