I chose to begin my education at James Madison University as an undecided major so I could explore all of the paths my school had to offer. However, after taking my first class, Introduction to Health, I immediately knew that my passion in life was going to be helping people. I changed my major to Health Sciences but was still unsure which patient care route I wanted. I knew that I loved helping people and wanted to figure out exactly how I was going to do that for my career. In October of my freshman year of college, my brother passed away and I had to go home to Delaware to be with my family immediately. These few weeks were such a whirlwind of emotions that I barely can bring myself to recall, and one of the only things I can remember from them is how amazing the nurses in the ICU were while caring for my brother. I genuinely believe that the nurses who were caring for my brother were the only thing keeping my parents in one piece. The nurses had such admirable empathy and compassion. My parents were losing their first child, who was 20 years old at the time, and all I remember is how warm and comforting the nurses were to all of us. I was unsure about my career path at this time, and obviously, it was not high on my priority list while my life was being completely turned upside down. I had no idea at the time that these nurses would come to influence my decision to pursue the nursing profession. Nursing is a challenge that I am more than willing to work for. I have been told my whole life that I should work in the healthcare field because of my compassion, work ethic, and stability. I have a love for helping others, and I know how much satisfaction and joy it would give me to use my education to help others improve their physical, mental, and emotional health. This past summer I took it upon myself to shadow a Medical Surgical Nurse at Christiana Hospital. I had previously shadowed a Radiation Therapist at the same hospital, but I didn't feel as though I had found what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. However, after shadowing the nurse, I felt like I had finally found my passion and something I could see myself doing for a profession. I observed for a whole 6-hour shift and valued learning about the culture and day-to-day occurrences. After that shadow day this past summer, I knew I would be doing myself a disservice if I did anything except apply to a nursing program, even if it meant committing to an extra year of schooling after undergrad. I would love nothing more than to pursue my dream of becoming a Labor and Delivery Nurse.