My mother knew that she wanted to be a nurse when she was three years old. But, that always intimidated me because I constantly bounced between career ideas and never felt as solid in any of my choices as she did at such a young age. From nursing or teaching to occupational therapy, or social work, my aspirations have fluctuated a lot as I have gotten older and have been exposed to many different people with different careers. But, despite the variety of fields that have interested me, the heart of all of them is the same: A drive to help people and make their lives better. My mom is an emergency room nurse, and whenever she is asked why she loves nursing, she always gives the same answer. She loves nursing because it gives you a chance to meet someone on the worst day of their lives and make it just a bit better. Although I could never work in the chaos of an emergency room, I am excited about the opportunity to help people and make their worst days better. Nursing requires a selfless, responsible, quick-witted, tough, and kind-hearted person. I hope that I am the type of person who would make a successful nurse, but I am aware enough of my shortcomings to acknowledge that I still need to grow as a person in order to be the person that I would like to become. I hope that training to be a nurse and being around others who also have these passions will develop me into a successful nurse and a better person. While I am not yet sure what specific area of nursing I would like to pursue, the two that most interest me currently are geriatrics and obstetrics. One of my favorite topics to study is gynecology and pregnancy. Everything about the reproductive system fascinates me, and I would love to be a part of making sure that that process goes smoothly. I am also interested in geriatrics because I worked in a hospice care facility a few years ago, and I enjoyed the experience and the environment. I know that I will be exposed to all of the fields of nursing over the next four years, and my choices may change as a result, but the thing that excites me most about nursing is how many different places a nurse can work. Nursing is a field with many different paths, and I can not wait to find mine.

"Someone else will do it..." Whether we are seeing a crime take place or seeing an empty toilet paper roll that needs changing, we as humans often avoid going out of our way to do anything. Instead, we rely on an imaginary "other" who will take action for us. The biggest problem currently facing the world is apathy. People are constantly exposed to crime, war, injustice, environmental decline, and other similar issues in every area of their lives. Still, they often fail to take personal responsibility for these issues. A psychological principle called diffusion of responsibility explains that people will not act on something because they assume that someone else will. The larger the group of people is, the less likely it is that anyone will help. This is because each individual assumes that the responsibility is spread out amongst the group and feels less personally responsible. This is a form of the bystander effect, or bystander apathy, where bystanders will avoid involving themselves in events that they observe. An example is the murder of Kitty Genovese, whose neighbors watched as she was killed, not taking any action until it was too late. As a society, we tend to diffuse responsibility for the world's problems onto the rest of society, failing to take any actions ourselves. Very little gets solved when so much of the population does this because there are not enough people helping. A solution to this worldwide apathy is to convict people into participating. It is vital to expose people to the true effects of worldwide issues and relate them to each person in a way that makes them feel a personal responsibility to the world and the people in it. By using social media to target people, we can convict them into action.

My favorite books are A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket. I prefer a series of books because I can spend longer getting to know the characters, and the author has more room to flesh out the story. The best part of these books is how the author inserts himself into the story. He presents himself as a chronicler, tasked with recording the tragic story in the books, interrupting tense moments with unrelated anecdotes, and talking directly to the reader. The story follows the lives of the Baudelaire orphans, whose parents tragically die in a mysterious fire. Over the 13 books, they are shuffled from horrible guardian to horrible guardian, none of which are suitable places for children. They go from the care of a murderous actor to working in a lumbermill to living in a crab-infested shack. Their first guardian, the terrible Count Olaf, is continuously plotting to get the Baudelaire fortune, following them everywhere they go and bringing disaster. The book's most significant and frustrating feature is the never-ending misfortune of the Baudelaires and the total ineffectiveness of anyone who could help them. The only kind, well-meaning people they meet tragically die soon after, and no one believes the children about the danger until it is far too late. But, beneath all of the frustration, misfortune, and tragedy lies a convoluted conspiracy of a secret organization that also seems to find the Baudelaires no matter where they go, leaving the Baudelaires and the readers hungry for answers. Reading this series inspires so much emotion. Readers get angry, frustrated, hopeful, and devastated along with the characters. They are also tearing through the pages for clues. These books hold up to re-reads because of the hidden story beneath every original word. They are cleverly written and endlessly enjoyable.

Despite the importance of financial literacy to success in the adult world, high school and early life do very little to adequately prepare us for the world of loans, taxes, and budgeting. The best financial advice I have ever received is never to spend money you do not have. In a world of credit cards and personal loans, it is easy to forget that you spend money each time you make a purchase. When paying cash, you can only spend what you have, but with a credit card, you can purchase anything without thinking about the consequences until the end of the month when the bill arrives. My parents are firm believers in never missing a credit card bill. This means never spending more than they can pay when the bill arrives. When you neglect to pay a bill, it accrues interest and becomes more and more challenging to pay. Because of the lessons my parents taught me about never spending more than you have, I also strongly believe in this philosophy. A helpful tip to prevent overspending is purchasing a reloadable Visa gift card and putting monthly spending money onto it. This only allows you to spend the money you have budgeted for this time but does not risk someone accessing your bank if you lose it the way a debit card does. It is important to know how much money you can spend and stay within those limits to protect yourself and your financial security.

My mother knew that she wanted to be a nurse when she was three years old. But, that always intimidated me because I constantly bounced between career ideas and never felt as solid in any of my choices as she did at such a young age. From nursing or teaching to occupational therapy, or social work, my aspirations have fluctuated a lot as I have gotten older and have been exposed to many different people with different careers. But, despite the variety of fields that have interested me, the heart of all of them is the same: A drive to help people and make their lives better. My mom is an emergency room nurse, and whenever she is asked why she loves nursing, she always gives the same answer. She loves nursing because it gives you a chance to meet someone on the worst day of their lives and make it just a bit better. Although I could never work in the chaos of an emergency room, I am excited about the opportunity to help people and make their worst days better. Nursing requires a selfless, responsible, quick-witted, tough, and kind-hearted person. I hope that I am the type of person who would make a successful nurse, but I am aware enough of my shortcomings to acknowledge that I still need to grow as a person in order to be the person that I would like to become. I hope that training to be a nurse and being around others who also have these passions will develop me into a successful nurse and a better person. While I am not yet sure what specific area of nursing I would like to pursue, the two that most interest me currently are geriatrics and obstetrics. One of my favorite topics to study is gynecology and pregnancy. Everything about the reproductive system fascinates me, and I would love to be a part of making sure that that process goes smoothly. I am also interested in geriatrics because I worked in a hospice care facility a few years ago, and I enjoyed the experience and the environment. I know that I will be exposed to all of the fields of nursing over the next four years, and my choices may change as a result, but the thing that excites me most about nursing is how many different places a nurse can work. Nursing is a field with many different paths, and I can not wait to find mine.