As my graduation steadily approaches, I have given much thought to what I would like to do career-wise in the future. In the beginning of my professional life, I would like to get enough experience to move from the position of clinical nurse 1 to clinical nurse 2 and become a preceptor to new nursing students. I have had my share of the good and the bad when it comes to preceptors. I know firsthand that having a good role model, especially in such a challenging field is a beneficial addition to that student’s career as a nurse. It will help them pave their way smoothly and confidently. As I work, I would like to pursue a higher degree and earn my Nurse Practitioner’s license so that I am allowed to operate on a bigger base. I would like to dedicate my free days to where I can volunteer in low-income areas and offer free health services. Nursing is very multifaceted. If you do not like a certain specialty, there is always room to change. There are loads of opportunities to learn and evolve with medicine. I think it is an amazing field for those who want to help people and keep growing in their knowledge and compassion. It is a very hard but rewarding job despite some of the setbacks. To be with people during one of the most challenging times in their lives would be an honor to try and help them through this tumultuous event. Nurses go through many difficult moments, however, every time I hold a patient’s hand through a painful procedure or talk to a client’s family member to reassure them, I am reminded that what they are feeling is valid. The sorrow, fear, anger, resentment, disappointment, etc.; it may be scary at times to be confronted with these big emotions, but rather than wavering from my decision, it makes me want to push on and become a nurse more than ever. This experience that I have garnered has improved my patience, empathy, confidence, determination, and knowledge. It has provided me with many reasons on why I should chase after this career. Not only am I always discovering new technologies, medicines, polices, and procedures to upgrade healthcare through conferences and meetings, I am seeing how much more I can push myself to be better- as a person and as a healthcare professional. I can see how much I have come out of my shell in order to provide good care and be a patient advocate, and am proud to witness a positive change in myself.

When you think of Booktok, you think of the fantasy/romance genre since it is what mostly populates the internet with a few anomalies that squeeze past the spying eyes. However, if you tune the searches in your favor, you can discover that is not the case. If we are talking about popular novels, the Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller was a delightful read. As many readers stated, I, too found myself excited for the mythological aspects of the book mixed in with a queer love story. It re-popularized the 2013-2014 craze that held readers captive over beloved series like The Kane Chronicles and Percy Jackson by renowned author Rick Riordan. Normal People by Sally Rooney also gathered considerable affection for the real emotions that were conveyed in the “right person, wrong time” trope. Book Lovers by Emily Henry was an easy, bite-sized story that made good use of the “enemies to lovers” trope- a wildly adored concept within Booktok. Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus was amazing, to say the least. With its strong female character it opened up a cache of other book recommendations that would be on par with the famed Elizabeth Zott and her eccentricities while recognizing flaws in others- characters usually written by men. These are three of the books that I’ve made a good read out of and would always encourage people to buy. Little Life by Hanya Yanigahara, Yellowface by RF Kuang, and Circe by yet again Madeline Miller have been on my popular TBR (To Be Read) list for the longest time. Little Life has been making its rounds on the platform with lots of readers emphasizing the mental health shown within the book, praising it to be “one of the saddest books ever”. RF Kuang, also known for her other notable titles like Babel has written Yellowface to reveal the indignance that real POC (people of color) face shown by writing in a white main lead who has taken over an Asian woman’s identity to further her career. Circe has also done the same likes its predecessor The Song of Achilles by replenishing peoples’ expectations and nostalgia for mythological books. Booktok has influenced the rise of readers scouring for their favorite author’s older works. It has opened the possibility to people who had never encouraged themselves to read a different genre. For that, I believe Booktok should be recognized as a vital source for restoring and recognizing people’s newfound passion for reading.

“Duck, duck, duck quack quack quacks…” Sings my mother as her small hand gently pats my chest and lulls me into a deep sleep. This is the earliest and most fond memory of my mom that I can recollect to this day from my childhood. My mom is someone who solely believed in my dad’s aspirations to come to America and followed him to create a better life for her and her family. In a way, it is a cliche story told by millions, but to us is crucial in keeping the memories of the time between then and now alive not just for ourselves but for future generations alike. My mom toiled in Argentina for years, learning the culture and language by working in a factory while awaiting my father’s arrival in the United States, so he could collect some semblance of a start before he had her move. They lived in Koreatown, scrapping for food and materials for their one-bedroom in LA they called home. She says it to me not once, not twice but this phrase so many times that I can remember the words by heart. It sounds awkward in English, but in our native Korean, it is nothing but soothing. “I am sorry, my daughter, that I can’t provide everything for you. Just know that my love knows no bounds and whatever you choose to do, I will always be proud of you. I know that anything that you put your heart and mind to will lead you to a greater path than anything I could have chosen for you. You are the only thing that stands in the way of your success and I will always be here to stand by your side.” I collect these words in the depths of my mind and use them to strive for a better life for myself and use it to guide my younger sister as well. My parents, who come from China, don’t know much about the education system in the US and have apologized to me many times for not giving me the proper advice on what to do, but I know that they have done the best that they can and will always thank them for it. I think whenever I have a hard time, the talk that I’ve had with my mother alleviates the burden of whatever I’ve been worrying about moments before. I use them in a way to think optimistically and look forward to the future. It’s not a one-time thing in my life but a constant that’s been having different impacts in different moments. For most of my life, I’ve been stricken with anxiety, but these words show me that I have a support system that loves and cherishes me. She is someone who pushed me to get into nursing school. Someone who pushes me daily to remember the goodness of everyday living. Someone who tries their best to be a better version of themself. For that, I will always thank my mom and appreciate all that she’s done for me, especially for those heartwarming words that I carry day to day.

I am currently a future 3rd year nursing student at the University of Pittsburgh-Greensburg. I have been preparing to have a role in healthcare since my junior year in high school- ever since I had been accepted into the Nursing Assistant program at my local career center. I thought it would be wise to join a technical skills school to at least earn a state-certified nursing assistant license to help boost my college application. I also wanted to get a feel for what nursing might entail as a career. I plan to specialize in public/community health and hope to focus on providing care to the homeless population. I would like to dispel the bias against impoverished communities and (hopefully) get to open up my own clinic someday after obtaining my Nurse Practioner's (NP) license. My main goal would be to expand the public/community health field and to make it as well known as the other nursing specialties. I have always had difficulty making connections and forming relationships. In general, it was extremely hard for me to talk to people due to my shyness, but as nursing is known to be a more sociable career, I have noticed a huge change in myself. As I was volunteering and taking shadowing opportunities in different specialties and facilities from the nursing assistant program, I have been able to become more expressive and outgoing. I noticed how easily I slipped into the role of caretaker and how freely I conversed with the patients, which I enjoyed more than I thought I would. This was an astonishing but much-welcomed surprise. This has had a very positive impact on my life skills that have helped me in other jobs and situations as well. I have seen and learned much from my clinicals and the experience has cemented my admiration for nurses and for what they do. Despite the back-breaking hard work, nothing has ever made me busier and more motivated to do something. Alongside the much-needed encouraging influence on my character and personality, nursing is a passion that has not fleeted like all of its predecessors before it. I've gone through many job options; from wanting to become a veterinarian to an author to a bartender, but nursing is what I've always come back to. These are the very reasons that I plan to take in my heart and keep on practicing this career to give my patients the best care that they can be satisfied and appreciative of.

I am currently a future 3rd year nursing student at the University of Pittsburgh-Greensburg. I have been preparing to have a role in healthcare since my junior year in high school- ever since I had been accepted into the Nursing Assistant program at my local career center. I thought it would be wise to join a technical skills school to at least earn a state-certified nursing assistant license to help boost my college application. I also wanted to get a feel for what nursing might entail as a career. I plan to specialize in public/community health and hope to focus on providing care to the homeless population. I would like to dispel the bias against impoverished communities and (hopefully) get to open up my own clinic someday after obtaining my Nurse Practioner's (NP) license. My main goal would be to expand the public/community health field and to make it as well known as the other nursing specialties. I have always had difficulty making connections and forming relationships. In general, it was extremely hard for me to talk to people due to my shyness, but as nursing is known to be a more sociable career, I have noticed a huge change in myself. As I was volunteering and taking shadowing opportunities in different specialties and facilities from the nursing assistant program, I have been able to become more expressive and outgoing. I noticed how easily I slipped into the role of caretaker and how freely I conversed with the patients, which I enjoyed more than I thought I would. This was an astonishing but much-welcomed surprise. This has had a very positive impact on my life skills that have helped me in other jobs and situations as well. I have seen and learned much from my clinicals and the experience has cemented my admiration for nurses and for what they do. Despite the back-breaking hard work, nothing has ever made me busier and more motivated to do something. Alongside the much-needed encouraging influence on my character and personality, nursing is a passion that has not fleeted like all of its predecessors before it. I've gone through many job options; from wanting to become a veterinarian to an author to a bartender, but nursing is what I've always come back to. These are the very reasons that I plan to take in my heart and keep on practicing this career to give my patients the best care that they can be satisfied and appreciative of.

I am currently a future 3rd year nursing student at the University of Pittsburgh-Greensburg. I have been preparing to have a role in healthcare since my junior year in high school- ever since I had been accepted into the Nursing Assistant program at my local career center. I thought it would be wise to join a technical skills school to at least earn a state-certified nursing assistant license to help boost my college application. I also wanted to get a feel for what nursing might entail as a career. I plan to specialize in public/community health and hope to focus on providing care to the homeless population. I would like to dispel the bias against impoverished communities and (hopefully) get to open up my own clinic someday after obtaining my Nurse Practioner's (NP) license. My main goal would be to expand the public/community health field and to make it as well known as the other nursing specialties. I have always had difficulty making connections and forming relationships. In general, it was extremely hard for me to talk to people due to my shyness, but as nursing is known to be a more sociable career, I have noticed a huge change in myself. As I was volunteering and taking shadowing opportunities in different specialties and facilities from the nursing assistant program, I have been able to become more expressive and outgoing. I noticed how easily I slipped into the role of caretaker and how freely I conversed with the patients, which I enjoyed more than I thought I would. This was an astonishing but much-welcomed surprise. This has had a very positive impact on my life skills that have helped me in other jobs and situations as well. I have seen and learned much from my clinicals and the experience has cemented my admiration for nurses and for what they do. Despite the back-breaking hard work, nothing has ever made me busier and more motivated to do something. Alongside the much-needed encouraging influence on my character and personality, nursing is a passion that has not fleeted like all of its predecessors before it. I've gone through many job options; from wanting to become a veterinarian to an author to a bartender, but nursing is what I've always come back to. These are the very reasons that I plan to take in my heart and keep on practicing this career to give my patients the best care that they can be satisfied and appreciative of.

I am currently a future 3rd year nursing student at the University of Pittsburgh-Greensburg. I have been preparing to have a role in healthcare since my junior year in high school- ever since I had been accepted into the Nursing Assistant program at my local career center. I thought it would be wise to join a technical skills school to at least earn a state-certified nursing assistant license to help boost my college application. I also wanted to get a feel for what nursing might entail as a career. I plan to specialize in public/community health and hope to focus on providing care to the homeless population. Becoming a nurse was a childhood dream of mine; from watching the spunky nurse Carla Espinosa in “Scrubs” to playing make-believe with my friends on the blacktop. As I grew up, however, I began to explore other options, from wanting to become a veterinarian to an author to a bartender; if you can name it, I’ve thought of it at one point or another. Regardless of my fleeting passions for all the other jobs I’ve wanted to have, it always came back to me wanting to become a nurse. I have always had difficulty making connections and forming relationships. In general, it was extremely hard for me to talk to people due to my shyness, but as nursing is known to be a more sociable career, I have noticed a huge change in myself. As I was volunteering and taking shadowing opportunities in different specialties and facilities from the nursing assistant program, I have been able to become more expressive and outgoing. I noticed how easily I slipped into the role of caretaker and how freely I conversed with the patients, which I enjoyed more than I thought I would. This was an astonishing but much-welcomed surprise. This has had a very positive impact on my life skills that have helped me in other jobs and situations as well. I have seen and learned much from my clinicals and the experience has cemented my admiration for nurses and for what they do. Despite the back-breaking hard work, nothing has ever made me busier and more motivated to do something. These are the very reasons that I plan to take in my heart and keep on practicing this career to give my patients the best care that they can be satisfied and appreciative of.

Unlike 90% of the nursing students in my class today, I can’t relate when they say they’re from a 3rd or 4th generation of nurses or when they talk about a big, special hospital moment that has inspired them to pursue nursing. My moment came when a career center representative came to talk at my school during my sophomore year of high school, and by then, I was slightly interested in nursing. So, I put in an application for the Health Technology program and was accepted, and I decided to try it out. I am not great at small talk and can’t hold onto conversation for dear life at times, so when I stepped into the nursing home that I was supposed to shadow, I thought I would be a blubbering mess. However, when I started to follow the nurses around, talk to them, and interact with the patients, I was doing better than I thought I would. I wasn’t stuttering or covering my face like I usually did. By senior year, I got to draw blood at a medical center, and I was casually asking questions and having discussions with the patients. Nursing is something that pushes me as well as gives me confidence. Nursing is centered around having to get along with people. To speak to them, comfort them, and make their situation easier while giving care. It takes hard work and patience and skills; things that I may be lacking at the moment but help me to strive for in order to become successful in the field. I hope to mostly enter public/community health and work in a homeless/immigrant/youth shelter. My goal is to work with an underprivileged population that shies away from the usual hospital route. I hope to become a nurse whom my patients can rely on and trust. I hope to become a source for people who may need extra care outside of the services at the center. Like Ms. Visser, I wish to show professionalism in the work that I do while being able to balance my life with my job. I want to help my community and the people around me with the knowledge that I’ve gained in school without any expectation. I want to treat people fairly and shun bias. I want to show empathy and compassion to my fullest degree. I want to be able to do nursing for as long as I can.

Over the past few years, I’ve been engorging myself on fatty foods and self-deprecating thoughts. I didn’t have well-balanced meals most of the time and I would often find myself eating when I was feeling down. I didn’t gain as much weight as I felt like I had; however, I could feel my endurance and balance declining. I would be out of breath even after the simplest exercise and be unwilling to continue if I didn’t excel at it from the beginning. As my parents saw my state of mind as well as my physical appearance, they began to exercise more often in hopes of me joining them on their daily walks and such. They bought me vitamins and growth supplements which I knew they didn’t have to, but they did because they cared. They made me good foods that were nutritious and energizing. I saw their efforts and knew the amount of time and money that they had spent on me, and I knew that I had to change. I had to wake up early in the morning, have breakfast, take my supplements, and work out. At first, I had only done it partly to show my appreciation for their dedication to me, but as I started to put in the work, I started to enjoy being healthy. I had fewer mean thoughts about myself, and I could feel myself getting lighter on my feet. It was like I was back to my old self- my younger self. My younger self where I was more fit. More athletic. More content. A healthy lifestyle from the way I eat my food to the way I stick to my schedule has helped limit my procrastination and improved not only my body but the way I think as well.

There was a time not long ago when I thought the most terrifying experience that I could ever live through was flipping my hair in public or eating in the cafeteria or even talking to a person by meeting their eyes. In middle school, I had a habit of speaking to others with the sleeve of my sweater covering my mouth because I thought that I looked too ugly to be seen by others. I was afraid of walking in the middle of the path to class because I thought the shape of my butt was weird and didn’t fit the types I had seen on social media. I even refused to eat in public places because I thought everyone would stare and point and laugh. Currently, I am glad to say that most of my worries from my middle school days have been vanquished from my mind, though some have remained. I noticed that my way of thinking changed when I started to give myself what I call the “NPC side-missions” where I would often assign myself to complete small quests in order to alleviate my social troubles. At times, when I saw a person with a nice outfit, I would dare myself to compliment them and initiate a quick conversation. Other times, when chatting with friends or family, I tried to make eye contact now and then without turning red. I believe that these little missions that I’ve made for myself have really helped me to live more boldly. I no longer blush when I conversate or try to avoid touching up my hair when people turn to look. I still get nervous, but now that I’ve associated my issues with something I find enjoyable, I become more optimistic to better myself.

There is a variety of activities and mantras and items that have helped me stay optimistic during my rough periods of time, however, I’ve seen that they all stem from one thing in particular: my family. If I feel doubt or any negative emotions that can lead to my eruption or any bad habits, I tend to rely on my family whether they are near me or not. If I’m attending school, which is in another state, I like to focus on the memories I’ve created with them in the past. I like to remember how I felt when I was laughing at their jokes or just sitting in comfortable silence as we shared a meal together. I brighten up at these thoughts and become aware during the situation that others may not be as lucky as I am to have a family that cares. There is a saying that discusses how your personal traumas and hardships shouldn’t be compared with others, but to me, it sometimes helps just to gauge my feelings at the moment. It is a method that doesn’t work for some, though it does for me. I like to depend on my family as they support me both emotionally and financially which makes me even more comprehensive as to why I should stay hopeful with all the awful news/social media coverage on toxic family relationships currently. This reassurance from my loved ones that have developed into my own encouragement during personal toils has shown me that I should be grateful for the life that I’ve led until now and that I could certainly do more to help my community and the people around me as my family has done for me.

When I was younger, I wasn’t as appreciative of what I have as I am now. I was very distant with my family and didn’t try at all to be friendly and believed that I had the worst life in the entire world. That all changed, however, during one of our many nightly talks during middle school where my dad would tell me one of his promised stories: how he arrived in America. He told me the grueling details down to the straw. He told me how he had had to pretend to sleep in an upright position with his money in his boots which doubled as a way to make himself seem taller- I definitely snorted at that fact. He also spoke of how he had to endure hot summer days under the mattress in a moving truck with a dozen other people who had “gone” on themselves as a result. He then spoke of how he had to cross days on end in the desert with the sun blaring down on him with no materials on hand. I knew then that my life was nothing compared to what he had lived through. From that day on, my gratitude for my parents grew as I realized and understood all that they had done, were done in order to help grow this family. I am most definitely aware of all the trouble both have gone through and try to be as inclusive as I can. I try my best to let them know my admiration and respect for them every day, and they do as well.

From a very early age, I’d always thought I wanted to become a scientist. As weeks went by, it went from scientist to veterinarian to author. As the years went by, it went from author to nurse to pilot. I conjured up every job imaginable in the dictionary. However, nursing was the one career path that I’d find myself back to every single time. And so, when I was introduced to the Health Technology program at a local career center, I enrolled and was accepted. For my junior and senior years of high school, I was practicing skills in order to earn my Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) license. However, I believed that I would once again change my mind and drop out. Aside from my indecisiveness, I thought my anxiety would bar me from having favorable interactions with patients. When the time for shadowing experience and internships came around, I was expecting to be yelled at over my inability to make good eye contact or be considered the “unfriendly” one. Nevertheless, I was pleasantly surprised by myself. I was smiling and asking questions without being on edge all the time. I was making small talk and being able to conversate normally. I was happy that my improvements were finally showing. So, when I’m asked what inspired me to pursue an advanced certification in nursing, I say that it’s because nursing is what helps me become the person that I want to be. I’m able to be nice and sociable and connect with people I might not usually be agreeable with. It’s helped me learn patience by spending time with certain types of people and understanding their conditions and how it’s affected them. Not only did I come to know more about the medical aspects of their lives, but I’ve also discovered that many act sourly because of it, and sometimes, it’s not something to take to heart. Nursing has not only pushed me to try harder for my future patients- be it studying academics or communication- I’ve seen the results of my hard work personally. Since then, I’ve attained my CNA license and am continuing my education for my Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN). When I complete nursing school, I would like to specialize in either public/community health or in wound care. If I decide to go down the community route, I would like to work in an outpatient clinic centralized around the homeless population or the underprivileged.

As a child, I was a so-called bookworm. I read books day to night from stack to stack. However, as I grew older, books were no longer my sanctuary. They no longer held the meaning nor sparked as much joy as they had in the past. As my book habits began to dissipate, my parents started to take notice as well. They told me every chance they got to bring this fact up. The more and more they talked about my former affection for everything literature, I wanted nothing more than to feel the paperback fuzz of an old book. So last summer, I decided to give books another try. I saw that there was a Half Price bookstore near my local Walmart, so I popped in for a quick look. As I passed by a section of the store, a book caught my eye: Memoirs of a Geisha. The cover showed a photo of a woman as her hair blew in the wind. The book was detailed in a first-person perspective that discussed the life of a young Japanese girl and her journey to becoming a geisha. Japanese culture and history- Wow! I thought. It has two of my favorite topics. So, I purchased the novel and I ended up loving it. It was and still is one of my favorite books to this day. Not only has the novel rekindled my love for books, but it’s also taught me to take certain contexts with a grain of salt; especially toward novels such as the Memoirs of a Geisha where a white author attempts to romanticize the East at times. I’ve learned that it’s okay to question things that are written in books and that you don’t have to absolutely love everything in them to say you love it.

Average, average, average. I’ve known since elementary school that I was average. Average in sports. Average in studies. Average in height. Average in all. I wasn’t particularly bothered by this notion until I reached my freshman year of college when I learned I needed to start pressing myself further past my normal boundaries if I wanted to pursue my goals in nursing. Ever since I was young, I’ve never actively tried to be good at anything. Classes were just something that needed to be passed, and I did just that. My courses were easy, and my teachers were laid-back. My parents didn’t nag me to join any clubs or to take any advanced lessons, so I didn’t. I was average in life and average on paper. However, as my parents grew older, so did their worries about me and the future I’d be leading. They wished for me to have a stable job and be financially secure, and I knew I could achieve that by earning my degree in nursing. Presently, I’m very lucky to have my parents supporting me mentally and monetarily when it comes to schooling since this is not an option for many others. I’m grateful for their encouragement and guidance that has led me to this point in life. So, when I’m asked the question, “Why are you passionate about receiving your education?”, I say, because I believe that my desire to learn beyond school hours is a new testament to my motivation to change not only for the sake of myself but for my family and to-be patients that will need the critical thinking skills and knowledge I’ve honed since college to aid them when needed. I think that it is never too late for a person to start anew, and I’m doing exactly that. I don’t wish to be average anymore; I want to persist and overcome any boundaries that nursing school throws at me if it means that I will be putting 100% of my efforts into bettering my abilities and being able to use them when necessary.

“‘So many people walk around with a meaningless life. They seem half-asleep, even when they’re doing things they think are important. This is because they’re chasing the wrong things. The way you get meaning into your life is to devote yourself to loving others, devote yourself to your community around you, and devote yourself to creating something that gives you purpose and meaning.’” – Morrie Schwartz Another page highlighted, I thought, when I saw the quote beaming in yellow. Another page filled with the concept of mortality and aging and devotion to life as the other sheets had been. Another page to help me realize how I’m no different than others; everyone has fully thought about their lives at least once and become aware at certain points of life that they might not be living up to their full potential. Life is fleeting. I’ve questioned this basic principle that everyone discusses but only a few follow, thousands of times in my mind. It’s been five full years since my middle school graduation, yet I feel like I’ve come miles along the road from that moment on. I remember my wasted youth trying to please others and putting myself on a pedestal that seemed broken by the weight of my worries. I remember taking pictures of myself every single day to find the evenness on my face. I remember how every time I spoke, it would be through the sleeve of my sweater to hide my face. I remember being terrified of walking the way I walked or becoming dreadful before putting my hair behind my ears because I believed that everyone would think I cared too much about my appearance. I still harbor self-deprecating thoughts now and then, but I’m just glad that I don’t concern myself with them as excessively as I did in the past. I have my doubts about whether I can make it as a healthcare worker if I keep being distrustful of myself about my in-effectiveness, but I’ve come to realize, that it was this very uncertainty that stemmed self-centeredness that limited my abilities. I now know that I have more issues that I need to work on such as correcting my negative thoughts in order for me to put my patients above all if I’m going to be working in healthcare. I need to put aside my self-concern and focus on what is in front of me and what I can do to change. Again, life is fleeting, and I don’t have time to lose on such pessimistic and unfavorable would-be circumstances. I need to take life by the reigns and emphasize what is important; to others, it may be hiking across the Appalachian Trail, and to some, it would be traveling the world, but to me, it can start small by dispelling the negative energy around me to not only improve myself but help others around me as well.