I have always been a fan of Taylor Swift - albeit, I was two years old when her debut album was released - but even then, I had exceptional music taste! At four years old, I dressed up and sang “Love Story” from her sophomore album “Fearless” dressed in a big gown just like her. Now, at 19, I can say that experiencing each era Taylor has gone through has impacted me greatly, but the most significant moment was being able to attend the Eras Tour! While each of her albums has its distinctive songs, 1989 is sonically different from her previous work because it solidified her transition into the pop genre! While that album has plenty of fantastic songs, I would have to say my favorite is “New Romantics”. When I first listened to the album, I could not stop playing that song - when I say it was on repeat, I mean every time I got into my car, it was the first song I played. I quite literally could not get that song out of my head and constantly played it until I memorized every word. The beat of the melody and her lyricism is what drew me in in the beginning, and “New Romantics” quickly became the first song I enjoyed listening to on replay. Taylor has always had a way of painting vivid images with the words she uses in her songs, and I believe that is the best part of this song. When I listen to “New Romantics” it makes me want to drive for hours with the windows rolled down, screaming the words at the top of my lungs and I suppose this feeling is reminiscent of the lyric “the best people in life are free”. Ultimately, feeling free is the theme used within this song because she had moved to a new city - New York City, to be exact - and made this whole new life for herself; and, when I first heard this song, I yearned for the freedom and new beginnings that she was writing about, which made it a powerful song for someone who had just graduated high school with all these big plans! Another favorite part of mine in this song is the chorus when she sings, “Cause baby, I could build a castle / Out of all the bricks they threw at me”. This just cements how relatable of a celebrity she is because even she is not immune to the bullying that a lot of people face in their lives, but instead of letting the hate ruin her she turned around and made it into something great. When I heard this lyric, it made me feel empowered to take some of the obstacles in my life and build something amazing - similar to how she metaphorically took the bricks and built a castle. Additionally, I enjoyed the use of her lyric “We are too busy dancing / To get knocked off our feet” because it envelops the feeling of being in total control of how other people’s opinions affect me and whether I’ll let them knock me down or choose to not care. In the end, “New Romantics” truly captures the feeling of new opportunities that come with moving on to a different era, and I think that is the most relatable part of this song because we are constantly evolving into different versions of ourselves as we age - and at 18 when I first listened to this song all the way through, it was the beginning of a new era for me.

Growing up, I always knew what I wanted to do - make a profound impact in this world by helping people. I was surrounded by healthcare throughout my childhood, even now, and by observing I was able to see just how significant healthcare workers truly are. The most compelling life experience that influenced my decision to pursue a career in nursing was watching my mom and her family care for my aunt; she suffered a severe injury that left her in a vegetative state and I couldn’t help thinking of how I wish there was a solution that could bring her back. Even now, as I see her and witness how her body is slowly starting to deteriorate, the nurses and doctors that care for her do everything in their power to prolong her life. I want to be able to make that kind of difference for families all around; I want to help give them an opportunity that allows their loved one to be around for one more holiday, one more birthday, one more achievement - because those are the moments in life that we cannot get back. I see the toll that sickness takes not only on the patient, but their family members as well, and as a nurse we are allowed to relieve some of the worries that plague these families. My goal is to go through a two-year nursing program - to which I have already been accepted - and eventually further my education by earning my BSN and MSN degrees. While I have not had the opportunity of getting to experience different specialties in nursing, I have always taken an interest in pediatrics. It all began when I would care for my younger brother - age 3 - during the pandemic; I was 15 years old and had no idea how to best care for him in the beginning. My parents both worked full-time jobs, school had switched to virtual learning and I was tasked with caring for him while learning how to navigate my sophomore year online. Ultimately, I had to adjust from being his older sister who would play with him to a more parental figure who he could take seriously when I was trying to get him to eat or limit his screen time. Once he started school, it only became more chaotic because here we both were doing online learning and still trying to maintain a schedule, but it all worked out in the end. I found that I enjoyed caring for him (and my new baby brother when he was born in 2021) and when it came time to explore the healthcare field in depth, I learned that I could do this on a more professional level! With your help, I could make my dreams a reality and make a real difference in the medical community!