My career goals as a nurse is not to let my patients simply become a statistic. Nursing is one of the only jobs that takes the most compassionate and hard-working people and puts them in situations where they must be alert constantly. I decided to purse a career in nursing because, of my family situation. My dad grew to be a drug addict after fighting for custody of me, while my Mom has had schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression, and many other mental illnesses she was diagnosed of since I was born. My maternal grandmother was ever so strong and even though she raised me in an apartment deep in Montclair with cockroaches and not the safest area, she was extremely strong and took care of my mother. That was until she was diagnosed with stage IV ovarian cancer when I was 11. It all happened so fast: getting admitted to the hospital, staying there for a little over a month, then by the time summer 14’ came around, she was gone. Just like that. Got a call the morning that she had passed and that I could visit her, my mom was never around this time, she couldn’t take it, and later never went to her funeral either. It was the first time in my life I had seen a dead body. Someone who was so full of life turned into something so cold and swollen. That was the moment I needed and wanted to make a change. During this time, my Dad was still in jail, I didn’t really have anyone around to be there for me. My paternal grandparents became my Guardians shortly after my maternal grandmother died and I could never really express my emotions well. When I thought they could save me in a sense, my Grandfather abused me mentally and physically. I was already born strong, I took the mental abuse, until it started to become physical until the age of 17. I finally had the guts to FaceTime a friend in 2020 when he was about to hit me, and when he did, my friend and her parents called the cops. This is where for the first time I had complete control of what could happen in my life. That night I chose not to put him in jail because everyone in the family came over and convinced me not to because he has stage IV pancreatic cancer. Even my Dad, the past abused by my Grandfather, convinced me not to. From then on, I was so alone. Had to live on the couch of my Uncle’s apartment for the whole summer of my junior year of high school. This is where my depression hit more than ever, especially after being sexually molested at one of the only parties my teenage-self went to. My story is here to prove that I am NOT a statistic. I’m not part of the “70% of children who had parents who were not present/were drug-addicts are more prone to becoming like them.” And that’s what I want to help patients not become: a statistic. Patients are people who have families, people who are parents, and people who are even children. I’m only 19, I will always hold to myself to never let a patient not know that I will do everything I humanly can for them.

My career goals as a nurse is not to let my patients simply become a statistic. Nursing is one of the only jobs that takes the most compassionate and hard-working people and puts them in situations where they must be alert constantly. I decided to purse a career in nursing because, of my family situation. My dad grew to be a drug addict after fighting for custody of me, while my Mom has had schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression, and many other mental illnesses she was diagnosed of since I was born. My maternal grandmother was ever so strong and even though she raised me in an apartment deep in Montclair with cockroaches and not the safest area, she was extremely strong and took care of my mother. That was until she was diagnosed with stage IV ovarian cancer when I was 11. It all happened so fast: getting admitted to the hospital, staying there for a little over a month, then by the time summer 14’ came around, she was gone. Just like that. Got a call the morning that she had passed and that I could visit her, my mom was never around this time, she couldn’t take it, and later never went to her funeral either. It was the first time in my life I had seen a dead body. Someone who was so full of life turned into something so cold and swollen. That was the moment I needed and wanted to make a change. During this time, my Dad was still in jail, I didn’t really have anyone around to be there for me. My paternal grandparents became my Guardians shortly after my maternal grandmother died and I could never really express my emotions well. When I thought they could save me in a sense, my Grandfather abused me mentally and physically. I was already born strong, I took the mental abuse, until it started to become physical until the age of 17. I finally had the guts to FaceTime a friend in 2020 when he was about to hit me, and when he did, my friend and her parents called the cops. This is where for the first time I had complete control of what could happen in my life. That night I chose not to put him in jail because everyone in the family came over and convinced me not to because he has stage IV pancreatic cancer. Even my Dad, the past abused by my Grandfather, convinced me not to. From then on, I was so alone. Had to live on the couch of my Uncle’s apartment for the whole summer of my junior year of high school. This is where my depression hit more than ever, especially after being sexually molested at one of the only parties my teenage-self went to. My story is here to prove that I am NOT a statistic. I’m not part of the “70% of children who had parents who were not present/were drug-addicts are more prone to becoming like them.” And that’s what I want to help patients not become: a statistic. Patients are people who have families, people who are parents, and people who are even children. I’m only 19, I will always hold to myself to never let a patient not know that I will do everything I humanly can for them.