My goal is to become a registered nurse. I already have a degree in business, but I am going back to school after experiencing some life altering events. Back in 2020 on December 22, my husband and I were very excited to welcome our first child, a little baby boy named Solomon into our lives. Tragically, he died three weeks later from unknown causes after he stopped breathing. My life was completely shattered. It felt so challenging to think about going back into the business realm when all my heart wanted to do was sit in the grief and support others with hurting hearts. This is such a substantial decision to make though to switch careers after I started my undergraduate education back in 2005. I could easily keep working in the field that I am currently in now, but it just doesn't feel to me anymore like I am making a difference in the world. My son has motivated me to realize that life is not just about doing what is easy, rather it is doing things that matter. We don't know how long we have to live, and so we need to live our lives with passion and in pursuit of our dreams every minute. I have also come to realize that it is not the accomplishments in life that matter, but rather it is the difference we make, the relationships we support, and the hearts we care for that really matters in the long run. So where does that lead me now? I have a 2 year old toddler and a 4 month old baby living in our home, though Solomon will always be our first child. I finally feel like I am in a healthier mental state to be able to go back to school to get a nursing degree and enter into a profession where I truly can make a meaningful difference in others’ lives. I also feel like I am coming out of the postpartum period where sleep deprivation was the hardest and now have more of the ability to invest in other things, such as new coursework. I plan to take the pre-requisites for a local nursing program first as a nice introduction into science courses that I never had in my previous education and then apply to the full nursing program once I have completed these courses and hopefully have more financial stability to take an extended leave of absence from my job. In terms of specifics of nursing, I would like to be a labor and delivery nurse to be able to be there to celebrate when people experience that miraculous joy of meeting their child for the first time, but also be there for all the pains that arise, including any women that are suffering through miscarriage, stillbirth, infant loss (like I experienced), or other medical complications of their baby. In sum, my career goals are to bring purpose to the pain that I experienced and let the light shine from my son in others’ lives through shifting careers to a focus on nursing.