It was 2020, cooped up in our homes during the heat of the pandemic, my mom walked through the door after her fourth twelve-hour shift of the work week. Understaffed and overwhelmed, she would always return home tired from the hospital, but this was different. I would learn many months later that on that specific day, she had spent the last few moments with two different dying patients who had no other visitors. One was well into her 70s with prior health complications, but the other was 20 and previously in good health. Knowing that I had wanted to be a nurse since the age of 10, she told me this story and looked me in the eye, saying, "Can you do it? Can you be there for those people?" This was the moment I knew, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that I needed to pursue nursing. I replied, "I don't just want to be there, I need to be there, and I will." In terms of the career itself, I am particularly interested in critical care. Not only does the work fascinate me the most, but it seems that my disposition and skillset would be most inclined toward the stressful, fast-paced environment of critical care and codes. However, regardless of what department I find myself in, my ultimate goal as a nurse is to impact lives. In other words, I want to be the nurse who is there. If a patient has a question or concern, I want to be there. If a patient is scared or confused about treatment or environment, I want to be there. If it is something so seemingly little as wanting someone to talk to, I want to find a way to be there. My goal as a nurse is to show people compassion at the time and place they need it the most. I have been consistently reminded throughout the years, both mockingly and seriously, that nursing is a "woman's profession." Especially during my stay in rural Indiana for over a year, it was common to express a passion for the field of nursing, only to be met with great opposition or mockery. Throughout high school, while many of my friends had their sights on engineering or the police force, I often felt frowned upon for the stereotypes associated with male nurses and was continually discouraged from it being a viable career path for me by teachers and peers alike. It was the story mentioned at the beginning, the one of my mother being there for the dying patients, that gave me the courage and determination to become a nurse regardless of the roadblocks or consequences. Nursing is not, and should not, be a profession that is regulated to only women, just as many other professions should not be regulated to only men. It took many years for me to realize that what it takes is the heart of a nurse, not their gender, to make a good nurse. My passion for nursing and compassionate care remains as strong as it was back then, and I hope to carry it into my career regardless of rigorous academics or stressors that come my way.