“Why Nursing?” My mom asked me this question a little while ago. I have always been dead set on choosing Nursing as my major since I was a freshman in high school. I just saw my aunt and my sister choose nursing and go down this path when I was a little so I just said “Why not me?” This time though it was different, I just sat there at my kitchen table thinking about it really “why nursing?” It is hard to admit that growing up I was in and out of the hospital for a multitude of reasons. 3 months before my 11th birthday I was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes; the next year would be filled with a lot of changes including eating cleaner, working out, and more trips to the hospital. These trips aren't just 3 month check ups with my Dr’s rather trips to the emergency room. As rookies my mother and I weren't prepared to handle low blood sugars deep into the night, which led to trips to the emergency room. I am a person that likes to see the glass half full, I never saw myself as a victim or felt any self pity during this first year. However, since I was so young, it was hard not to get anxious about being surrounded with all the noise that comes with going to the Emergency Room. Despite that, when I look back at these moments all that I can remember were the kind nurses that worked at the hospital. We would talk about everything except my diabetes, sports, school, my dreams. etc. I would completely forget that I was in a sanitized white room with fluorescent lights. 7 years have passed now and I still remember those navy blue soldiers. A lot has changed with my life, my management of my diabetes has gotten better of course. However, more importantly, as I am deciding what I want to do for the rest of my life I am reflecting on my past. My parents have always written thank you notes to the nurses that have taken care of me throughout the years. They contain little gift cards worth 50 dollars and a long paragraph showing our gratitude. I want to continue this same sentiment in a different way, rather than just gift cards. I want to show my gratitude by recreating what those nurses did for me. I would like to be able to help people feel calm and collected in these stressful times, in a similar manner to those nurses when I was younger. “Why Nursing?” To not just prove to a 10 year old me that life turned out okay, and that the place that he dreaded the most became his full time job. Rather to show others that the hospital isn’t a place to be anxious or scared. To realize that it's okay that life happens, and that the hospital is a place to get helped.

Growing up, the majority of boys in elementary school would always wish to be just like their father, and I was no different. From a young age, I was always close to my father; I would go everywhere with him, such as the market, the laundry mat, etc My father immigrated to this country at a young age with little to no education and he didn’t even know the language. Coming from Honduras and dropping out during middle school, the majority of people will tell you that he would not make it in life. However, he would work long hours picking up random jobs at the corner for cash for the day. Jobs from cleaning a yard to helping a person move out. Building enough money to be able to move out from a cramped apartment with beds on the floor with no frame to a townhouse. In these types of situations, kids would not have a close relationship with their father, with the old age excuse “busy at work”. Despite that stereotype, I saw him at my graduations, awards ceremonies, and soccer games. By putting his family first above everything even if I was ever gone for more than a day he would always say. “I miss you.” As I get older I hear more and more of this. It gets more and more difficult to spend quality time with him. I feel the pressure of being a first-generation American. I put all my effort into school and church to make sure I don’t let all the work he put in don't go in vain. “Want to get some coffee at Wawa?” I would get so excited, despite the fact all we would do was get in the car, talk, and drink coffee. It was something minor, but I would never want the car ride to end. We talked about everything: sports, our lives, our own goals etc. On the most recent trip I had asked him how he felt about his past which ended up taking a sorrowful turn, “I don’t want you to be like me.” I turned to him with a surprised look, this was a man who sacrificed everything and started from nothing to owning a home. Why would he say this? “ I have many regrets in my life, there are a lot of people who if you asked them they would say that I was a great guy. There are even more people who say different things. I wish you to not follow my steps; take the good things and learn from the bad.” At this moment for the first time, I didn’t see my dad as a superhero, but as a human. I couldn’t even look at him, I look out the window and just let him talk, “Don’t reject anyone who may do you wrong, try to make up with them. I want you to be better than me.” Thinking that I could be better than my father was a foreign concept. I always had big dreams, but I never thought anything I could do would live up to him. At this point, it was the end of the car ride before we got out of the car he ended with, “I don’t care what you will do, I just want to let you know I am already proud of you,” I always felt the pressure, trying to succeed after all that has been invested in me. All of my work in school and church was to make him proud, and after hearing this I was eager to now do more.

“At the end of the day you will always have family.” This is a sentiment that my parents have told my siblings and I since I was little. My siblings were both 8 and 9 years older than me, I would be lying if I said I didn’t think I would not be close to them as the years went on. In 2019 my sister got married and moved out, eventually due to my brother in law's work moving to Indiana. My sister has always been a part of my life, despite the long distance between us. A couple months ago she told us that she was pregnant , and my whole family was ecstatic. Especially my mother, she was going to be a grandmother of a girl. What made this news even better was that she wanted to do the baby shower at my house! As the months went by, it's now August, a day before the baby shower. A close family friend came over and my mother and I used tiny vases to store what felt like hundreds of flowers. We used shears to chop them down to size, getting a lot of splinters along the way. We then poured water into each of the vases using only a water bottle due to the size of the vase. This took around 3 hours, which would be the easy part of a baby shower. The next day was the day of the baby shower. It was a hot summer day, my father and I were moving chairs and tables to get the set-up just right. One thing about my sister is she is a perfectionist, she will move around everything if she doesn’t like it. Even when we took a shower and finally got ready when I went downstairs I got told, “Can you do me a favor,” having me sent across town to go pick up a couch in their Honda CRV. As time has moved on these past couple of months, I reflect back on this moment. Realizing what I did, at the end of the busy day I was exhausted. I went to the local pizza shop to get some alone time. What really changed about my perspective was that I wasn’t doing all of this for myself. I wasn’t even doing it for my sister, what really motivated me throughout this day was my niece. Her due date is coming up this winter, I am ecstatic about the idea of being an uncle. But I have taken a lot of pride in what I did, even if she won't even know it for many year that I did it for her. My niece isn’t here yet. My niece has become one of the biggest motivators in my life. I notice a new spirit Growing up I saw my uncles all the time, however as I get older I see them less and less. My aunt has become my biggest supporter, any award, any time I talk about my goals, or even any instagram post she loves. I’ll make sure that my niece will understand that I will always have her back. She will always have her uncle in her life even though I may be hundreds of miles away.

This July would make me Living with Type 1 Diabetes for eight years. I have gone from elementary school all the way to my senior year. From the initial shock of diagnosis to eventually acceptance. My life has never been the same. At first, the diagnosis felt overwhelming, I was 10 years old turning 11 that fall.It was hard for me to come to grasp the weight of the situation at first. However after leaving the hospital and doing simple tasks, like going to school or hanging out with friends, it became very clear that my life did change. In school, I had to learn to balance my diabetes management with my academic responsibilities.At first it was easy, since my mother and the teacher would help me greatly. I worked closely with my teachers and school nurses and to develop a plan that would allow me to manage my diabetes while still participating fully in class. However, I couldn’t help but to feel different. LIke I didn’t belong, especially when I reached middle school/early high school. In retrospect, I shouldn’t have expected people to get Type 1 Diabetes, but really it's not a common disease. Let alone one that is clearly visible. If I am being completely honest at times I felt like alone, one of one. Despite the challenges internally, I was determined to succeed academically.I am proud to say to never see myself handicapped. Incapable of doing anything.I learned to focus on the fact that “Yes I am one of one.” So why should I not be a top student? Take AP Classes? Be a first generation college prospect? Be a Leader? These past 2 years of high school I have seen myself do exactly that. I was one of my first members of my family to take an AP Exam. The first to apply to 8 different colleges. I am one of the youngest people that is a leader at my church. My diabetes has affected and prevented me from continuing to do many things. However, I did not let this stop me from chasing my dreams. I would be lying if I didn't give thanks to my mother and father. They have continued to support me and give me hope when I couldn’t myself. They were the ones that first told me to be different. With their honesty and leadership of their own I wouldn’t be where I am today. Yes diabeties will be with me for the rest of my life, but that does not mean it has to affect my future.

This July would make me Living with Type 1 Diabetes for eight years. I have gone from elementary school all the way to my senior year. From the initial shock of diagnosis to eventually acceptance. My life has never been the same. At first, the diagnosis felt overwhelming, I was 10 years old turning 11 that fall.It was hard for me to come to grasp the weight of the situation at first. However after leaving the hospital and doing simple tasks, like going to school or hanging out with friends, it became very clear that my life did change. In school, I had to learn to balance my diabetes management with my academic responsibilities.At first it was easy, since my mother and the teacher would help me greatly. I worked closely with my teachers and school nurses and to develop a plan that would allow me to manage my diabetes while still participating fully in class. However, I couldn’t help but to feel different. LIke I didn’t belong, especially when I reached middle school/early high school. In retrospect, I shouldn’t have expected people to get Type 1 Diabetes, but really it's not a common disease. Let alone one that is clearly visible. If I am being completely honest at times I felt like alone, one of one. Despite the challenges internally, I was determined to succeed academically.I am proud to say to never see myself handicapped. Incapable of doing anything.I learned to focus on the fact that “Yes I am one of one.” So why should I not be a top student? Take AP Classes? Be a first generation college prospect? Be a Leader? These past 2 years of high school I have seen myself do exactly that. I was one of my first members of my family to take an AP Exam. The first to apply to 8 different colleges. I am one of the youngest people that is a leader at my church. My diabetes has affected and prevented me from continuing to do many things. However, I did not let this stop me from chasing my dreams. I would be lying if I didn't give thanks to my mother and father. They have continued to support me and give me hope when I couldn’t myself. They were the ones that first told me to be different. With their honesty and leadership of their own I wouldn’t be where I am today. Yes diabeties will be with me for the rest of my life, but that does not mean it has to affect my future.

As my father pulls up in the driveway, closes the door, and walks up the steps after a long 10 hours at his work, all that he can think about is getting home and going to sleep. However, he is met with a pleasant surprise at the door. My dad sees me waiting for him, and at the sight of his family, 2-year-old me runs up to him, and all his worries go away. Growing up, the majority of boys in elementary school would always wish to be just like their father, and I was no different. From a young age, I was always close to my father; I would go everywhere with him, such as the market, the laundry mat, etc. I've noticed now that I have the same habits as him. Our clothes, the food, down to the way I would walk and talk would be the same as my dad's. It is clear that from a young age, I aspired to be just like him. My father immigrated to this country at a young age with little to no education, and he didn’t even know the language. Coming from Honduras and dropping out during middle school, the majority of people will tell you that he would not make it in life. However, he would work long hours, picking up random jobs at the corner for cash for the day. Jobs from cleaning a yard to helping a person move out. He did this until he found a job as a fire technician, which would cause him to go away for weeks at a time for work. Building enough money to be able to move out from a cramped apartment with beds on the floor with no frame to a townhouse. In these types of situations, kids would not have a close relationship with their father, with the old age excuse "busy at work." Despite that stereotype, I saw him at my graduations, awards ceremonies, and soccer games. By putting his family first above everything, even if I was ever gone for more than a day, he would always say, "I miss you." As I get older, I hear more and more of this. It gets more and more difficult to spend quality time with him. I feel the pressure of being a first-generation American. I put all my effort into school and church to make sure I don’t let all the work he put in go in vain. The constant hours of staying up late to make sure I got the best grade I could in my AP/Honors classes. Becoming a leader in church and giving back to my community when I could. Despite the times he told me I did way more than I needed to, I understood that just doing the minimum amount of effort was not okay. He sacrificed everything for me, so of course, I will be willing to do the same.