It is not every day that a children's book about a pink talking bird changes the course of your life. Not every birthday party ends in the birthday girl bleeding from the head either. But life happens. Exactly 2,555 days before this aforementioned party, I was born in precisely the same hospital where I now found myself struggling against my scratchy gown of cotton candy and white sugar glitter. The swirls of cherry red streaming down the front, however, was a personal touch of my own, painted on following my decision to dash around on a freshly waxed floor in glittery party shoes, approximately approaching the speed of light until I slammed into a wall, saw stars, and plummeted down. My eyes lit up as the magic of the emergency department captivated all my senses—whilst my parents and my older brother were understandably distraught, the intricate medical equipment I'd never seen before, the efficient collaboration between all of the medical professionals in the emergency department, and especially seeing elated family members weep after hearing their loved ones will recover soon had ignited a passion in me that would become my lifelong fascination and calling. Eight external and four internal stitches later, I received what would become my all-time favorite book and most cherished gift: "The Love Me Bird” by Joyce Dunbar. Although the sweet tale of a very lady-like bird learning empathy and love was a short and simple one, the kind nurses who took the time to read it with me as I convalesced, and my mother recovered from all the excitement are the ones who helped to make the book, which was the first birthday gift I had received that night so tremendously special to me. Before I knew it, the more I talked to them on that hectic night, the more I felt in my heart that nursing was the loveliest profession I could ever imagine being a part of. It just so happened that the day I found my calling of what I wanted to do for the rest of my life was on a day which I almost died. My gratitude to the talented and compassionate medical professionals I met has not only lasted to this day, but has now blossomed into admiration and inspiration to embark on a similar journey by becoming a nurse and spending my life healing people in my community who need it most inside and out.