I have been comprising my bucket list items since I was eleven or twelve. I remember the very first thing I put on it was skydiving and bungee jumping. While I haven’t checked off bungee jumping, I did go skydiving for my eighteenth birthday! It was the first time I was ever in an airplane, and I was very nervous. My brother and I were in a tiny four-seater, and I sat next to an open door for a section of the flight before it was finally closed. For a while I liked to tell people I’d never been in a plane while it landed because of the funny looks I would get. Now that I’m older, the main theme for my bucket list is travel. I have over forty different countries I want to visit, and the list isn’t getting smaller with time. I’ve lived in a tiny town my whole life, with a graduating class of a whopping ten kids, so I have always wanted to see the world. Before the pandemic, I got to make my first steps out of my hometown. I went to Hawaii, the Czech Republic, Amsterdam, and New Orleans. I can’t wait to restart my travels. After I graduate school, I would like to either go to Thailand or Portugal.

Independence can mean different things to people. To me, it has always meant being self-reliant and not needing to use someone else’s help, if I didn’t want to. Being independent gives me the option to choose if I wanted help vs requiring help. I don’t enjoy having no options and needing help makes me feel vulnerable and like I’m not useful. Needing to be independent has pushed me to try harder at school and at work so I can be financially independent. It pushed me to learn new skills so I wouldn’t need to rely on handymen or mechanics for most things. For instance, I learned to change tires, light bulbs, transmission fluid, filters, spark plugs, put up dry wall, replace electrical outlets, and frame in windows. It was a lot of hard work to learn how to do these things myself vs relying on someone else, but the feeling of accomplishment that came with doing it myself was the best feeling in the world. So I continue to push myself to learn new skills so I can be more independent every day.

Hello! My two little fur children are named Sylvie (the kitty) and Akiva (the Australian shepherd). The theme for my photo submission is silliness. These two goofballs cause so many hijinks with their never ending supply of energy and happy demeanors. Akiva is my little travel buddy and is so excited to see new places, especially if they have a view.

Currently I am in my first year of an associates nursing (RN) program. What I would love is to continue my education after graduation and transfer to a RN to BSN program so I can get my bachelor’s degree. Most hospitals and healthcare facilities require a BSN or at least prefer it when hiring and I would like to get a position at a modern hospital with great benefits. Right now, I’ve been reviewing different programs to see which would be the best value: well-known with effective teaching but still not going to break the bank. If money was no object I would still care about the price of the program and shop around a little since that’s what makes me comfortable. I know I would like to work in a specialized area once I get my RN degree, maybe in labor and delivery, or maybe at an endocrinology or rheumatology outpatient clinic (doctor’s office). Those specialties are so complex and have a ton of different medications and available testing for the different diseases that I find fascinating. They also involve a lot of patient teaching opportunities which I would love to do. It’s very gratifying to help a patient who is scared and doesn’t understand what is happening to them. I get to watch them change and become confident in managing their own care. If money was no problem I would like to continue past a BSN and get a master’s degree to be a Nurse Practitioner and independently practice.

“I turned my nightmares into fireflies and caught them in a jar.” Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor is my favorite book. It has everything that makes a book great in my eyes: hope in the face of oppression, tragic love stories, charm, and tons of fantastical elements that make my imagination soar. Lazlo, the main character, is so sweet and humble that I found myself immediately cheering for each little victory he accomplished and crying when he suffered the loss of his love. This wouldn’t be the first book to make me cry like a child, but for a book to really be a favorite of mine, it must evoke those strong emotional reactions. That’s why I go back and read them repeatedly. Strange the Dreamer is a very complex and intriguing story that still holds my attention with each read and keeps me from bouncing through the book to my favorite parts like I usually do with a book I’m rereading. There are many different fictional cultures included, a back story of angels fighting demons, a subjugated secret civilization, and different worlds stacked on top of each other, multiverse style. The multiverse element is one of my favorite parts of this book, mainly because it plays a role in four other books Laini Taylor has written, so they all interweave in various ways which is exciting to me. I would have still loved this book even if there weren’t any sequels or separate series that exist in the same universe Laini is creating, but the fact that there is so much more to this book than itself is a big reason its my all time favorite.

Oh boy, where to begin…Overall my major goal for the future is to be financially independent. That’s been a huge driving force for me for a long time because I never want to live paycheck to paycheck again or accrue lots of debt. I’m planning to accomplish this by finding a good job as a nurse that pays well. Since most hospitals want their nurses to have a bachelors (BSN) I am planning to continue after getting my associates (RN) degree. I haven’t decided if I want to immediately transfer to a BSN program after graduation, or if I would like to gain some experience first at a facility that doesn’t require a BSN. Now those goals are important to me and my future, but they’re a little less fun than my goals for my personal life. One of them, and my personal favorite, is to see the world. I haven’t gotten to see much of it so far though; I’ve lived in a very small town my whole life (for reference my high school only had 90 kids in it total) and part of that time I was homeschooled. So, I never really to explore until about four years ago. My very first trip was to Hawaii, then a trip to the Czech Republic (with a day in Amsterdam), and finally a trip to New Orleans. I still have so many places to visit, over 56 different countries on my Pinterest board the last time I counted, and I can’t wait to get started again.

Self-care can be difficult to make time for; everyone is busy and there always seems to be something more important going on that should take priority over doing something for myself. However, burnout is a real issue and particularly prevalent among healthcare workers, so every day I try to do something nice for myself so that I am still able to care for patients. What I do for self-care varies depending on the day. For instance, each day I do a skin care routine, but I am also a very food driven person, so sometimes all I need is my favorite takeout or dessert and I feel refreshed and ready to tackle that next homework assignment. Other days I need a bubble bath with the works (nice music, candles, etc.). Somedays I really don’t have the time for any of that but am still in desperate need of extra self-care, so there have been a few baths after work when I brought my laptop with me so I could relax but still get a paper turned in on time. As for my physical health, I take time to play volleyball three times a week with a big group of people. It’s something that I really enjoy doing, allows me to get some aggression out, and I get great exercise out of it. Overall, I practice self-care because it helps me stay positive and happy, and because mental health expenses are currently out of the budget.

The best way to live a long and healthy life is to take care of your whole body; take care of your heart, lungs, and bones by moving and stay active, at least 30 minutes a day, but preferably longer. The more you are moving the stronger your heart and lungs are, which improves your circulation to your tissues, improves your joint mobility and overall range of motion. Take care of your mind by continuing to learn and be inquisitive, removing negativity from your life, and maintaining a balance between work and play. Lastly, fuel your body for success by eating in moderation. Eat the candy bar occasionally because it makes you feel good and because life is short, but make sure to eat the vegetables because life will be much, much shorter if you don’t. But overall, love yourself because toxicity and hate from the inside can be very damaging.

When I think of the most inspiring book I have ever read, the first book that comes to mind is The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. I first read this book when I was fourteen and I reread it periodically ever since then. I think it's naturally going to be an inspiring book to read because the main character is living through a horribly traumatizing time during the Nazi era, but she perseveres through the loss of loved ones and finds joy in her life from stealing books and reading. I obviously can't relate to the horror she faced, but I think using books and words as an escape is something many people, myself included, can empathize with. It's also written in a unique way with death as the narrator, which I was impressed by when I first read it and it really takes this book to another eerier place.