I decided to pursue nursing because I have always enjoyed caring for and helping people. When I was younger, my grandmother called me “Mother Hen” because I would run to someone if they were hurt and help them. My grandmother told me how I would go around and ‘treat’ people with a kiss, a hug, and a band-aid because that was all it took to make them better. My grandmother and my family were the significant motivation behind my actions. From an early age, I have always been taught to treat others how I would like to be treated. I grew up watching my grandmother take care of my grandfather after he developed heart failure along with diabetes and dementia. My grandmother took care of my grandfather while he deteriorated. She was constantly praised for her care by nurses who would come to check on my grandfather. Even when he would get mean, he was a WW2 veteran and suffered from PTSD, she never acted in an unprofessional manner. She never went to school and got her nursing license, but she had been practicing and learning how to do care all her life. She had taught many of her children and grandchildren what she knew, and as such, many of our family have become members of the health care profession. After growing up with such a fantastic influence, I want to be a nurse because I want to be there for the patients and help with their needs. I want to be able to make a difference, even if it is a small one. I know there will be bad days, but there will be great as well. My journey to become a nurse has not been an easy one. I am a single mother, and both my parents passed away a year in between each other. Because of that I have been working on my college courses and scheduling the best I can around my children's school schedule while also going to work. This is the easier part. My first semester was probably my greatest challenge. I had to be at work by 4 in the morning a few times a week and then to class by 11; luckily, I worked just down the street. One morning, on my way to work, a car came into my traffic lane, and I went into a guardrail, totaling my car. This wouldn’t have been as much of an obstacle except that I had no way to school or work; the professor did not make any excuses or record the lecture. It was content-heavy, and you would fail the exam if you missed class. Then, two weeks later, my daughter developed COVID-19, and I could not go to class. All my professors, except the one, allowed me time to access the material and content. I would say that being in this car accident was my biggest hurdle because it taught me that I had to have a backup plan in place. It also taught me that things can disappear in an instant. I had to do physical therapy for a couple of weeks because I pinched a nerve, but it could have been worse. I do not think it will have too much effect on my career except to make me strive harder because I have come this far and overcome a lot. I am currently an Emergency Medical Technician and a Certified Nurse Aide. I became an EMT to better help with my career as a nurse and to work in psychiatric nursing, critical care, or as a flight nurse.

My grandmother was a considerable influence on my decision to go into nursing. Growing up, I was always at my grandparent's house and would see my grandmother taking care of someone. Eventually, my grandfather became bedridden as he had diabetes, congestive heart failure, and dementia. One of the main reasons I say that my grandmother significantly influenced my decision to become a nurse is the care she provided. While my grandfather would deteriorate and become aggressive she never stopped providing him with the care he needed. As his wife you would assume this is to be expected. The home health aides that would come in would regularly praise the care she was giving him and continuously ask if she was a retired nurse, which she was not. My grandmother was not a nurse by profession, but she had years of knowledge on how to tend to people and treat wounds. She was never able to attend a form school though. Another example of her care is when my uncle came home from the hospital to pass away. He had been diagnosed with colon cancer and was only given a brief time to live. He wanted to be surrounded by those he loved and so he asked my grandmother if he could spend his last days there. She once again took care of him like she did my grandfather and he passed away as he wished, watching television, surrounded by family. This might seem like I have gone a bit off track while explaining why I have chosen to pursue a degree in healthcare, but this is one of the main reasons. I want to be able to help people, be there for them when they are unable to help themselves and to try and make life more comfortable or less scary if possible when the time comes for them to leave. I would like to make a difference. In healthcare, I hope to use education to better understand my patients and their needs. I am currently minoring in psychology to have a better understanding of my patient's needs. I also participate in many other classes and gain certifications and licensures so that I can better understand my patients. Some of those healthcare related classes, certifications, and licensure include Sergeant Rescue Pre-Hospital Trauma Training, Certified Nurse Aid, Emergency Medical Technician, and Camp Morning Star volunteer counselor. Camp Morning Star is a camp that helps youth who are dealing with death and dying and those who are dealing with grief. In my life as a healthcare provider I hope to be able to put all my skills to use and be a dynamic and multifunctional nurse. I would love to work as a critical care nurse and a flight nurse but also spend time on the mat

I have been overcoming my neurological disorder since I was twelve years old. I’ve had to prove to many people that it wasn’t a disability and that I was normal. I struggled with fear about driving from all the people around me telling me I couldn’t until I found someone who believed in me and took the time to teach me and helped me get my license at 20. I had to take a test when I wanted to work at 16 in order to prove I was “fit” to work. This test was on top of my physical for my permit. All my life I’ve had to work twice if not three times as hard to prove I can. When I was divorced I had to work even harder to prove that I could provide for my children and work as well as manage my job as a manager. I had over come a horrible marriage, managed to secure a good position at work, and volunteered as a coach for my children soccer team. I overcame many hurdles and demonstrated leadership through my work and my volunteer work as a coach.

I’ve decided to pursue a career in nursing because even at an early age I have always enjoyed taking care of and helping people. My grandmother used to call me her ‘mother hen’. If someone would get hurt I would run to them with a kiss, hug, and a band-aid. According to her that was my prescription for making it ‘all better’. My grandmother took care of my grandfather for most of my childhood as he had dementia and diabetes. After he passed she took care of my uncle who was diagnosed with colon cancer. I was there helping her with both. She was not a certified nurse but she knew as much as any nurse and every nurse that came in was in awe of her. We have a large family full of nurses, CNAs, LPNs, and RNs alike. My gram took care of my uncle until the day he died, he wanted to pass at home with family not a hospital. He did pass peacefully surrounded by family. This is the kind of compassion everyone should be shown. Everyone should have someone when they are moving in or afraid. I want to be a nurse because I want to help people. I want to be able to comfort the scare child as well as heal their wounds, help the elderly when they can’t help themselves. Be their voice when they can no longer verbalize what they are trying to say and make sure they are getting the care they need. Not only physically but mentally.

I plan to make a positive impact on the world through my career in healthcare because I would like to make a difference and work with patients with disabilities, mental health issues, and dementia patients. This may seem like a challenge to some people but I believe that patience and understanding is everything. I am also extremely interested in the field of psychology and how it can be used to better interact with those around us and help us to help those around us interact with others. If I can help just one person then I would say that I’ve made a positive impact.

I was married for 9 years to an abusive man and when I was finally able to leave I adopted a dog. My dog was my own self in animal form. I suffered from depression from that marriage and the trauma I suffered. The dog I adopted had been abandoned and dumped in the woods and left there for about a year before she was rescued. When I adopted her she couldn’t play, didn’t know what a treat was, and was scared and skittish to loud noises. Everything frightened her. Together we grew. We went on walks together. I had to leash train her since she wasn’t quite use to the leash. She gave me comfort from not being home alone. She slept on a pillow curled up in a corner by my bed. She wasn’t scare and I wasn’t scare. Today I don’t feel anxious or scared being in my house alone, I’m with my dog. And I content. My dog, Fay, loves her treats, and even loves going outside just to run around or watch the chickens. And she always sits right by my side when we come inside.

My pet has changed my life because she gives me someone to depend on. Someone who will always love me. I love pets because they are reliable and they need you as much as you need them. Unlike people pets can not be cruel but can make you feel better after a rough day. My dog is a rescue. Someone decided they didn’t want her anymore and abandoned her in the woods where she spent about a year until she was found. She managed to survive and take care of her puppies. I love pets, my dog especially, because they have this ability to forgive and to love again, even when hurt. And then they are the most loving and loyal part of your family.

I’ve always wanted to go back to school. Growing up my grandmother always called me “mother hen” because if someone got hurt I’d be right there trying to take care of them. At first, because I was around 4 or 5, I started out making everyone better by giving them a hug, a kiss, and a bandaid. That was the cure. My pap had heart disease and diabetes and was confined to a hospital most of my life. He passed away of a heart disease when I was 12. My gram took care of him as long as I can remember. A couple years after that my uncle was diagnosed with colon cancer. He faded fast and asked my gram if he could come home to die with family. She was not a licensed nurse but she was skilled as any. She took care of him until the day he passed away surrounded by family, laughing and talking, like every other day. He went peacefully. This is my goal. My goals for my area of nursing are to help as many people as possible. I want to learn as much as possible and help in as many different areas. I enjoy working in dementia care as people with dementia need someone to advocate and listen to them. Even when they can’t speak. I also wish to learn as much as I can about psychology and behavioral health in adolescence and adults.

In order to clear my mind I use a couple different methods. At night I have meditation sleep music that plays to help calm my thoughts and help me sleep. During the day, when I’m at home I crank up the music and just dance, or go crazy. Good vibes make you feel good! Theirs also deep breathing techniques that work. If my music isn’t working at night I close my eyes and use visualization techniques. I pick calming things to think about like the stars and camping, or a campfire to quiet my brain. These techniques don’t work for everyone but I like them!

I believe my greatest achievement was being successful at a job even while being a single parent. I overcame any obstacles that came my way. And I say that is my greatest achievement while in reality the greatest achievement is proving to my children that if you keep trying you can overcome any obstacle. Saying this may seem insincere but it’s true. I started out pregnant with my son and no place to go, no job, and car. I had to decide if I would move out of state where I didn’t know anyone and put myself into a mountain of debt or make a plan. I chose to take care of my family. I found a job, an apartment, and walked to work everyday. Eventually I bought my first car. I scraped by on $25 a month. I worked my way up in the company by working hard and learning everything I could. This experience taught me that I am a hard worker and if you put your mind to it you can do it. I also got the sense that no matter what I love learning new things. I love helping others learn new things. One thing I have learned is that the more I learn about something the better understanding I can get. The experience I described gave me a better understanding of the difficulties of different jobs and what it takes to accomplish them. I would learn how to do different tasks to help out so when there was a shortage I could fill in. As I stated before these experiences taught me I love learning new things, jobs, tasks, skills, and putting those abilities to use helping people. In the future I hope to use any and all my combined abilities to help as many people as possible in whatever way I may.

My favorite memory with my mother is my 5th birthday. Every year she would take my cousin and I to a toy store in the mall to pick a toy. We would go and ride a bus to the mall, that was the exciting part, when we would get there we would each get to pick a toy. My cousin and I were a year apart but we both picked an Ooopsie Baby doll. After we got our dolls my mom took us to McDonalds for lunch and then we rode the bus home. To a 5 and 6 year old it was the greatest day ever.