My parents had a messy divorce when I was in elementary school. To me, the concept of divorce was foreign and I didn't quite understand. One day my parents would get along then all of a sudden, one of my parents would go live somewhere else temporarily and I was sad. My mom ended up taking custody of us and I chose to cut contact with my dad for personal reasons. She worked overtime daily and it would make me upset. I felt so alone. Inhindsight, I see how hard she was trying. She was financially supporting 2 kids and trying to keep us from seeing the aftermath of the divorce. She saw that my sister and I weren't taking it well so she took us to therapy every Friday night. She would even let my sister and I pick a place for a drive-through dinner on the way home from therapy. I remember she would only get food for my sister and I, later to find out it was all she could afford. My single mom inspires me because she is the epitome of a caretaker. She exemplifies what unconditional love is. She would struggle to keep me and my sister happy. In all aspects of my life, my mom wanted me to be successful and I want to earn my degree not only for myself but for her. I am pursuing a degree in nursing right now and I plan to be a labor and delivery nurse. My mom has taught me through her own actions what it means to be cared for. I want to give my patients the physical, mental, and emotional support they need as they enter such a beautiful chapter as parenthood. I plan on taking a different approach to healthcare than normal. I want my patients to be healed physically and mentally if needed. I will give all around care to everyone and treat them as people, not patients. One of the ways in which the healthcare system is flawed is that interactions between patients and doctors are often transactional and I plan to change that. I believe everyone deserves to feel the type of love I feel from my single parent and being a nurse will let me do just that. My approach to healthcare will be unique and heartfelt. As I work in labor and delivery I would love to be able to tell all the new mothers how amazing my mother was and give them the guidance they need to a mother and the tools they need to unconditionally love their baby just as much as my single mom loves me, if that is even possible.

My parents had a messy divorce when I was in elementary school. To me, the concept of divorce was foreign and I didn't quite understand. One day my parents would get along then all of a sudden, one of my parents would go live somewhere else temporarily and I was sad. My mom ended up taking custody of us and I chose to cut contact with my dad for personal reasons. She worked overtime daily and it would make me upset. I felt so alone. In hindsight, I see how hard she was trying. She was financially supporting 2 kids and trying to keep us from seeing the aftermath of the divorce. She saw that my sister and I weren't taking it well so she took us to therapy every Friday night. She would even let my sister and I pick a place for a drive-through dinner on the way home from therapy. I remember she would only get food for my sister and me, later to find out it was all she could afford. My single mom inspires me because she is the epitome of a caretaker. She exemplifies what unconditional love is. She would struggle to keep me and my sister happy. In all aspects of my life, my mom wanted me to be successful and I want to earn my degree not only for myself but for her. I am pursuing a degree in nursing right now and I plan to be a labor and delivery nurse. My mom has taught me through her actions what it means to be cared for. I want to give my patients the physical, mental, and emotional support they need as they enter such a beautiful chapter as parenthood. I plan on taking a different approach to healthcare than normal. I want my patients to be healed physically and mentally if needed. I will give all-around care to everyone and treat them as people, not patients. One of the ways in which the healthcare system is flawed is that interactions between patients and doctors are often transactional and I plan to change that. I believe everyone deserves to feel the type of love I feel from my single parent and being a nurse will let me do just that. My approach to healthcare will be unique and heartfelt. As I work in labor and delivery I would love to be able to tell all the new mothers how amazing my mother was and give them the guidance they need to a mothers and the tools they need to unconditionally love their babies just as much as my single mom loves me, if that is even possible.