I’m Mykell Wicks. I am a nurse who works in primary care. I have been working in primary care for a total of 5 years split between pediatrics and adult care. I have also worked in asthma and allergy, wound care, home care, and long-term care. The common factor that I have noticed in all the fields that I have worked in is that it is important to manage and / or prevent disease processes. In order to do that we need to focus on the patient, their needs and beliefs. There are many diseases process that start with or are exacerbated with modifiable risk factors including hypertension, cardiovascular disease, asthma, diabetes, high cholesterol and many more. It’s important for the patient and the family to understand what they can do to help prevent or manage their disease. I feel that the future of medicine is in the hands of the patient and the primary healthcare provider. Primary care is transitioning from focusing on treatment to prevention of diseases. The best way to change the world in health care is to prevent disease instead of treating symptoms and diseases. Keep the patients out of the emergency rooms, hospitals, and urgent cares. Having to treat and / or manage patients with disease, even preventable ones in inevitable, however, as the healthcare providers we need to be able to teach the patients in a way that is understandable and relatable to the patient. Once a trusting relationship is built with the patient and their healthcare team is established then an effective plan of care can be created that includes values that are important to the patient while still meeting the goals of the patient’s health. Being mindful of the patient and their needs is an important aspect of health care because when provider is only giving orders patients are less likely to comply with those orders. Care needs to be tailored to the patient’s specific needs and interests in order to be effective. When a patient is told to “take a certain medication so that your blood pressure will be well managed” they are less likely to comply than if it is explained to them that in order to see their grandchildren grow up, which is very important to them, they need to make sure that their blood pressure is well controlled and in order to do that they need to take their prescribed medication as prescribed. Information needs to be presented in a way that is understandable, important, and relatable to the patient. To change the world with this frame of thinking it needs to be implemented worldwide regardless of the specialty or what the provider is treating the patient for. Making sure that open communication and teamwork is a constant factor between all providers involved in the patient’s care is essential to the success of true comprehensive care. The right hand needs to know that the right hand doing to make sure that pages are being turned together instead of contradicting one another. To change the world we need to change the face of medicine from disease treatment to disease prevention and management.

I have struggled with anxiety for a long time; however, I have only recently been diagnosed and treated properly. I need to be able to cope with my illness in order to fulfill my passion of nursing. Some ways that I do that is by attending biweekly therapy sessions, meditating, journaling, preparing, and taking my medication as prescribed. Talking to my therapist and my husband have proved to relieve my anxiety that may have built up through the days. I talk with my husband when feeling anxious. He can help my reminding me that there is nothing too big for God handle and let go my anxiety by giving my situation over to God. My husband also helps by taking care of things that cause me to be anxious. I speak with my therapist who reinforces the practice of not getting worked up about things out of my control and focus on what I can control. Talking it out works wonders for me. I have learned the art of meditation. I do so with guided meditation videos, soft music and even silence. I typically meditate during the early mornings and just before bed. During meditation I will speak words of affirmation for manifesting a good day or restful sleep. I find that when I don’t meditate in the morning, I worry about many of which I have no control over. Journaling my thoughts and feelings help to get in touch with them better. It also helps me to articulate those thoughts and feeling when I can talk to my husband or therapist about what has been bothering me and why. My typical journal entry includes what happened followed by how I felt about, if those feelings are good or bad, and if there was anything that I could do help my anxiety. One situation that cause great anxiety for me is testing. As a nursing student I take many tests that cover a massive amount of information. My anxiety has previously been overwhelming leading up to and during test time. Making sure that I am well prepared for the exam by knowing the material and having studied the material is what is most useful in managing my anxiety. Lastly, taking my medication as prescribed is manages my anxiety well. I still have worries, but they don’t overtake me like they used to. I would find myself in an anxious state most of the day about almost everything that I dealt with. While on the medication my testing anxiety which is lessened when I take my medication shortly before my testing appointments. It helps me to not get overwhelmed to where I can’t think straight. My future goals and aspirations seem to be within my reach with my anxiety being manageable and progressively getting better as learn how to better use the skills for anxiety reduction. One goal that I have is to be a registered nurse. I am currently in school for it and know that the NCLEX-RN exam will be difficult, however, I will overcome my anxiety about the test and pass it. Another goal that I have is to take my children to an amusement park. I have a lot of anxiety about taking them because I tend to worry about them getting lost or kidnapped. It seems like a minor goal, but they have never been and have been asking for years but I have been unable to fulfil their request. The days that I can pass the NCLEX and take my kids to an amusement park will be the days that I beat my anxiety.

To keep a growth mindset, one must first understand what it means to have a growth mindset and why it’s important. Having a growth mindset is to understand and believe that you can constantly grow and develop in any and every aspect of life. This is important because you need to view all aspects as such to make the most of each part of your life otherwise you are setting caps to what can be achieved. To keep a growth mindset, I do a few simple things. I make sure to think before I speak and put each thought through a series of tests before casting them aside or keeping them. I use and learn from criticism regardless of the critics’ intentions. Being mindful of what you say is important because you can’t take back your words. I am a firm believer in manifestation of what is said. I speak positivity into my life and the world around me because I want to be surrounded by positivity. When I am thinking about anything, especially before speaking I ask myself four questions. “Is this true?” Will this be hurtful or helpful?” “Is this positive or negative?” “Can I change it to be more palatable?” If it’s not true, hurtful, negative, or not palatable then I change it in way that is true, helpful, positive, and palatable. When given a critique, even if I don’t agree or I know that the critic does not have my best interest at heart, I make sure to use it and see if it works. If it doesn’t, I scrap it and keep it if it does. I know that I will not be able to appease everyone, but I make sure to be open to new ideas, including those that stem from a negative place.

As a mother, wife, nurse, and nursing student who is constantly overwhelmed it is extremely important to practice self-care. My self-care comes in the form of nighttime meditation, exercise, and watching Korean dramas. Each of these activities plays a special role in my life that is essential to maintaining my sanity. My nighttime meditation routine includes 5-10 mins of quite or gentle music that is specifically used for winding down and centering myself. There is a lot of hecticness that goes on my day, and I need to not take that energy to bed with me and into the following day. This time allows me to either think about nothing or all the good that has happened or will happen in the future. My exercise routine lets me physically release any negative energy opening myself up to positive energy and positive vibes. My exercise might include focused muscle group weightlifting, full body HIIT, follow along workouts, or some time on the treadmill. I typically like to start my day with some light exercise or treadmill walk to get my blood pumping and my muscles moving. All forms of exercise help to clear my mind as well. Watching Korean dramas is a not-so-guilty pleasure of mine that takes me away from the reality that is life. It’s a form of distraction. I get to live vicariously through the characters that I am watching which means that I am not dealing with the life that is hectic and filled with screaming and fighting kids, non-compliant patient and endless assignments and studying. My acts of self-care help me to be more productive and purposeful in life. I’m able to practice patience and be kinder to others as well as myself. They are some of the most important parts of my day.

Merriam Webster defines friendship as the “state of being friends.” It defines friends as “one attached to another by affection or esteem.” The combination of these two meanings does not fully explain what friendship means to me. For me, friendship means always having someone who will support you in any way they can with anything that you need support with. It’s a bond that is created through a series of encounters that bring each person closer together and a mutual understanding and caring of the other’s triumphs and failures. Friends are there for one another. They make lasting memories together. They talk and share their life experiences, or they don’t talk and just share each other’s company. Friendship means having someone to laugh with, love, learn from, and be comfortable with. It means having someone to cry with, lean on, and to fight with and fight for. It's said that there are many different types of friendship including the pleasure, loyalty, honest, fun, wise, and the best friend. To finds some one person who has a combination including all the types is nearly impossible, but in the off chance that you do, it’s best to keep them close because they are likely your true friend. Pleasure friends are friends that share the same likes and value. Loyal friends do not care what the situation is, they will take your side. Fun friends are those you call up just to have a good time with. Wise friends are those that can be a sounding board and provide guidance. The best friend is as it sounds, the best. They are with you through thick or thin, highs and lows, and will call you out if needed. With all the many different types of friends, none are sweeter than true friends

A Chinese proverb states “One moment of patience may ward off great disaster. One moment of impatience may ruin a whole life.” This quote resonates with me because its lesson is something I have tried to live by for most of my adult life. Being patient, especially in my line of work is essential. I am a mother of two rambunctious boys, a wife to a US Army Reservist and nurse working with US veterans. In every role taking a deep breath, being patient, and acting with kindness and consideration are all elements that makes for greater understanding build better relationships. Stress and anger typically work to dwindle patience and can cause you to become physically ill. It has been linked to hypertension, cardiac disease, ulcers insomnia, and many other illnesses. Learning to be patient can decrease your risks for such ailments. As a nurse I work with people who have memory and communication problems. Some also deal with many illnesses making it more difficult for them to function and my patience allows me to be more productive with their care. As a mother and wife, it helps with my relationship with my children and husband because one can easily become irritated and say hurtful things that can stick with them for many years and attribute to psychological problems later in life. When someone you love has little or no patience it could make it difficult to form strong relationships with others because they may think less of themselves. Choose patience. Practice patience. Patience in life is key to happiness.

At the tender age of seven years old, I distinctly remember sitting in the backseat of our SUV at a gas station waiting for my mother and older brothers to come back with snacks and my father to finish filling the tank. I was laughing at the faces that my father was making at me on a cold Wisconsin winter night. Suddenly there was blue flashing, and the entire gas station was filled with police cars. Confused by what is going on and why my uncle, cousin, mother, and two older brothers were all being handcuffed, slammed to the ground, and screaming or crying, I grabbed my younger brother's hand and turn back to my father to see his face shoved into my window as he sweetly says, "Everything is going to be okay sweetheart." Tears fill my eyes and my younger brother cried uncontrollably as we are pulled from the back seat of the SUV by police officers and put into the back of police car. The whole time, my father is repeating, "Everything is going to be okay sweetheart." I believed with every fiber of my being that everything would, in fact, be okay. That night has been etched into my brain and I frequently relive that moment. Since that night I have barely seen my father. For the first year or two we went to visit frequently. Wrote letters religiously and prayed for him endlessly. Prayed that he would be okay and come home. He never did. unfortunately, he died with less than one year left of sentence of 20 years. Like so many, I was left fatherless and so much of life feeling unfulfilled. Family gatherings feel incomplete. Father-daughter-dances were not attended or performed on my wedding day. Being walked down the aisle on my wedding day by someone other than my father. No one could ever fill his shoes and my mother never tried. I grew up with no father figure or adult male figure in my life. When I look back at all the things that I lost out from not having my father around it saddens me. When I felt that it could not get any worse, my mother was also incarcerated at the age of nine. It was very disturbing to me because I did not even know that she was incarcerated until I was ten years old. I whisked away to live with my aunty who took care of me for three years. Just me. I had never lived without my brothers until then. While I had the opportunity to live in Hawaii on a military base for a few years and have experiences I never thought possible, it was lonely. It was different and at times uncomfortable because I did not have any of the supporters that I was used to.

Throughout my life I’ve admired many people. Most of them were women. I can say that, by far, the woman that has made the biggest impact in my life as far as a role model is concerned would be Gabrielle Union. She is an American actress, mother, wife, author, and activist. I have learned so much from reading her book listening to and watching her interviews. I have watched her grow and evolve into the woman she is today all the while, growing myself. There is nothing she cannot do. I can actively remember scrolling through the channels at the age of nine and stumbling upon the movie, Bring It On staring Gabrielle Union opposite Kirsten Dunst. At that time, I had never seen a beautiful, strong, black woman on television. At least not one with that much melanin. The same traits that I was getting teased in school about is what made gravitate towards her. I sat there watching the movie in awe. In the last twenty years I must have watched that movie over 200 times. That is my first memory of her, and I felt like she spoke to me that day. I felt like she told me what my mother, father and everyone around me that loved me had been telling me my whole life, but I couldn’t hear it until she told me that I was beautiful. Gabrielle Union is human so she’s not perfect and has a past that she is not afraid to own up to knowing that she wasn’t the greatest person at that time. One of the reasons that I admire her so much is the mere fact that she has been so open and honest about her past and how she used to think and why she would do the “mean girl” acts that she had done. She has apologized to those she hurt. She continued to amaze me with her openness when it came to most aspects of her life. She had struggled with getting pregnant on more than one occasion, been a victim to rape, and discrimination. She did what so many parents ought to do when their child comes out as transgender which so many parents do not. The talent of bringing a wide range of characters to life and telling their story, whatever it may be, with such precision is unmatched. When she stands up or sits down to talk about inequality and crimes against the black community with such passion it forces people to think and look at things in a way that they might not have wanted to at the time. She is the difference and the change that I want to see in this world. While Gabrielle Union and I have very different lives and were set on very different paths she has made such a large imprint on my life. She brings so much hope, joy and happiness to me. Gabrielle Union is someone I that I hope remains her true, uncensored self because with more people like her in the world, it is bound to change for the better.

Having applied to many nursing schools after being unsuccessful in my last attempt to complete a nursing degree I understand both failure and rejection all too well. The painful rejection made realize that I needed to redirect my attention to a school that is more conducive to my way of learning. I realized that while I failed some of my face to face classes I was excelling in my online classes that were taking place conjunction with the face to face classes. As previously stated, I had received rejection letters from four different schools that only offered face to face classes. Knowing that I had failed 2 nursing courses that were face to face and passing all of my online nursing courses I switched gears and decided to apply to schools that allowed online core nursing courses. I was accepted and plan to continue to thrive in that environment. When people fail, myself included, we tend to give up or say that this wasn't meant to be because it wouldn't be this hard if it is meant to be. If every avenue available is not walked then you can't say that. I redirected my attention to options that would and did work in my favor. Getting knocked down is a part of life, however, getting back up, dusting yourself off and persisting on to the same destination using a different path is what really matters in life. One or four people telling you "no" should not stop you from reaching your goals. It may alter your path or prolong your timeframe, but not put an end to it. It might make you feel defeated but not actually defeat you. I believe that all it takes to succeed after failing is to take a step back and look at the situation from a different angle. I needed to shift my focus to something that had been proven that I was good at. That idea of online learning is becoming more prevalent from Pre-K until Masters and Doctorates degrees due to the current pandemic that is COVID-19. Taking these classes in this manner allows me to be worry free of the two hours wasted on traveling to and from classes. It allows me to access my study material and professor provided materials from anywhere. Having online classes allows me to take my classes with if need be without missing anything. Being an online students gives me freedom and education without being tethered to a classroom or distracted by other classmates and students. I pride myself on not taking no for an answer and looking for different ways of getting the things that I desire most in life. My education is one of the things that I desire most in life. There have been a lot of things in my life that has made me want to throw in the towel but I had to learn to get rid of those negative thoughts and ideas in order to succeed and have the life that I always dreamt of.