There is an experience I went threw just recently that makes working in healthcare all the more worth becoming an LPN. I spend my work day as a Medication Technician and a Nurse's Aid in a rehabilitation center. My day starts with counting the medication cart, getting a report on my patients, and what medications have changed during the day. After that, I prepare my medication cart with the supplies needed, then I push my cart from one end of the hallway to the other as I prepare the medications, implementing all the five resident rights until I finish the job. During my medication pass, when my sector has full compacity, I greet twenty-four individuals requiring post-opt care after surgeries, therapy for strengthening, or providing care until the individual is well enough to leave, to list a few. One of these individuals is a cancer patient. This individual is a kind person who has touched my heart. I have conversations with this patient about many things like how they spent time in the army and how many different places they had been. I informed this individual that I am a nursing student and that my classes start soon after this individual tried to sway me to join the army. The individual asked me, "Why would someone like you even want to be in a place like this? You could go and see the world and help people in the army." in which I told them that I already do help people and even places like these need people like me. On this day, however, we had a new aid to our crew. While in the room, I patiently waited for my new and old coworkers to finish care to give my patient their medication. The old coworker informed the new coworker about the care required and the small details to make the patient more comfortable. After the aids left, the patient asked me, "Don't you find it annoying having to show new people what to do?". I told him I thought the opposite and that I love orientating new people because it allows me to show them a voice of understanding that everyone starts somewhere and enables me to be a voice of reasoning. Joseph Jubert had once said, "To teach is to learn twice.". To me. Showing new people about nursing was always a privilege and a daily learning experience. I started my career seven years ago determined to demonstrate my abilities to people in the trade. I learned everything I know from a Charge Nurse named Liz Closser. She inspires me to become as good of a Nurse as she was. She would ask me the same questions when I started along the lines of the patient rooms preparations for the evening, water cups having to be filled, or simply asking residents if they could use any assistance. Learning from her has crafted me to be a more attentive aid. I was honored to be allowed to orientate. In turn, I also became a leader, a supporter of my team members, and a better caretaker because I was constantly informing new coworkers on tricks and tips that improved the care they would give. The ability to adapt is critical to becoming a Nurse. I plan to keep learning to improve the quality of care I will give in the future as a Nurse and leader as Liz was to me. I am excited to be able to show future aids the skills to improve their care as well.

There is an experience I went threw just recently that makes working in healthcare all the more worth becoming an LPN. I spend my work day as a Medication Technician and a Nurse's Aid in a rehabilitation center. My day starts with counting the medication cart, getting a report on my patients, and what medications have changed during the day. After that, I prepare my medication cart with the supplies needed, then I push my cart from one end of the hallway to the other as I prepare the medications, implementing all the five resident rights until I finish the job. During my medication pass, when my sector has full compacity, I greet twenty-four individuals requiring post-opt care after surgeries, therapy for strengthening, or providing care until the individual is well enough to leave, to list a few. One of these individuals is a cancer patient. This individual is a kind person who has touched my heart. I have conversations with this patient about many things like how they spent time in the army and how many different places they had been. I informed this individual that I am a nursing student and that my classes start soon after this individual tried to sway me to join the army. The individual asked me, "Why would someone like you even want to be in a place like this? You could go and see the world and help people in the army." in which I told them that I already do help people and even places like these need people like me. On this day, however, we had a new aid to our crew. While in the room, I patiently waited for my new and old coworkers to finish care to give my patient their medication. The old coworker informed the new coworker about the care required and the small details to make the patient more comfortable. After the aids left, the patient asked me, "Don't you find it annoying having to show new people what to do?". I told him I thought the opposite and that I love orientating new people because it allows me to show them a voice of understanding that everyone starts somewhere and enables me to be a voice of reasoning. Joseph Jubert had once said, "To teach is to learn twice.". To me. Showing new people about nursing was always a privilege and a daily learning experience. I started my career seven years ago determined to demonstrate my abilities to people in the trade. I learned everything I know from a Charge Nurse who has recently retired. She would ask me the same questions when I started along the lines of the patient rooms preparations for the evening, water cups having to be filled, or simply asking residents if they could use any assistance. Learning this has crafted me to be a more attentive aid. I was honored to be allowed to orientate. In turn, I also became a leader, a supporter of my team members, and a better caretaker because I was constantly informing new coworkers on tricks and tips that improved the care they would give. The ability to adapt is critical to becoming a Nurse. I plan to keep learning to improve the quality of care I will give in the future as a Nurse and leader and am excited to be able to show future aids the skills to improve their care as well.

Society needs to recognize that mental health is a real issue that many people in the world struggle with daily. Too often, the people who suffer from mental health feel they cannot ask for help. I am a twenty-eight-year-old woman who struggles with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. The stigma surrounding ADHD and medications that help ease the symptoms are far more common than most realize. More often than not, since choosing to start treatment again, I get asked the question; Why can't you just find ways to manage your ADHD without medication? The answer that I want to say is; Why is it an issue if it helps with my diagnosis? The encounter is an example of an unsuccessful approach to helping anyone with mental illness. For starters, recognizing that one’s self needs help mentally should be encouraged, not looked down on. Essentially if I were to continue refusing to seek help, my disorder would affect far more than my mental health but the relationships I have with people I encounter and my activities of daily living. I have had individuals tell me too frequently in my life so far that ADHD is a fictional diagnosis made for children that don’t behave. The idea that people are so unaware or want to deny that ADHD is even a diagnosis and adding the fact that it affects women as much as men and doesn't go away once you grow up is a concept I will never understand. In turn, I had trouble understanding myself. It took me ten years to finally address my issues in pursuit of peace of mind. If we can change how mental health is displayed, we will be able to make a bold move forward to achieve better ways to help.

It is the dead of night, and while everyone else is tucked away in bed, my mind won't allow me any rest. My mind rambles about the assortment of the upcoming tasks that remain undone while also hyper-fixating on every taunting detail in all the to-dos and how-to-starts I have endlessly created for myself. As I burn the midnight oil, the music from my headphones drowns the climbing thoughts, desperately hoping to end at least another task to allow me some peace with the acoustic guitar strumming in the background. I usually am a night owl, in the trade as a medication technician and by design. As most people carry about their day in the sun, enjoying the simplistic conveniences of being able to prance around in the warm rays, I would rather be in the shade of the night sky, free from all the busyness that the daytime brings along with it. I wouldn’t define myself as an introvert because I get lonely being by myself with only the overly talkative inner voice inside my head. My happy place is to be around people, participating in meaningful conversations that won’t end with me wondering if I exhausted my friends by randomly carrying on about a conversation that concluded hours ago. It is a daunting thought to carry a sense of being too much for everyone to handle. My energy defines my body, speech, and mind while being addressed as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. I have spent the past ten years of my adult life trying to answer the same question that the Shawn’s Mental Health Resources Scholarship is asking. I would like to start by saying that one thing I have always relied on throughout my life as a resource to clear my mind has been music. When I get to a point where my mind won't come to a pause, placing some headphones over my ears, closing my eyes, and listening to where the music takes my mind has been very effective. One distraction for me is the commercials that play on music streaming platforms or radio. I avoid this by paying for a music streaming service. Another thing I like to do is take a free day and spend a few minutes at my local music shop searching the CDs the shop has and selecting one at random within the genre of my choosing. I enjoy the challenge of avoiding the predictability of knowing every song on that album and the opportunity to listen to something new. Moving past music, I also clear my mind by writing down what I am overthinking in a notebook. I generally don’t reflect on my old writings. Instead, I burn the book once I get all the pages filled. Doing this allows me to reflect, think, and understand my thought. However, burning the book symbolizes that the endless chatter climbing in my mind is just that, chatter. Doing this reminds me that I shouldn’t focus so much of my time dwelling on my chronic overthinking, but instead, enjoy the fire in my heart to be who I am. I think most people struggle with a cluttered mind. Life in the last few years has been drastically different than it was before. When becoming a nurse, I plan to continue to use these resources to relieve the stress of the occupation itself. Having a clear mind makes for a logical nurse. To conclude, there is never an issue with needing to seek help if needed. Taking care of yourself and your mental health is always a priority.