July: Pierogies and Parades

   July started out very similar to June. Classes and work dominated my summer fun. At this point Chemistry C110 was finally over (thank god!) and I started two new classes for Summer Session 2.

Monday: Nothing
Tuesday: Sociology 3-6
Wednesday: Nothing
Thursday: Sociology 3-6
Friday: Receptionist 6-9
Saturday: Cashier 8-6:30 (AT EARLIEST!)

   Besides my sociology class I was also enrolled in a professional writing course that was conducted online. This class was partially a waste of time and partially useful. It was useful because I'll obviously have to do professional writing for my career, but it was a waste of time because it was all pointless busy work. Nevertheless, I got an A so it was a nice addition to my GPA.
   As for my sociology class, I LOVED IT! The reason why I enjoyed it so much probably had to do entirely with my professor. He was a phenomenal teacher and I learned so much. It was a prerequisite for a nursing major, and I'm glad it was.

 
   Perhaps the most eventful moment of July was the Pierogi Fest! Out where I live, there used to be a huge Polish population and there is a very popular annual Pierogi fest to celebrate the culture. This year my Student Government Association was part of the parade. Did it have any professional beneficial outcome for us…no. Did it bring us all closer together….YES!

   After the parade we just hung out at the fest for a while and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. I actually tried pierogis for the first time and I really liked them! What I really didn't enjoy was the fact that I had to get up at 5:30 am the next morning for work. To make things worse, it ended up being a 11.5 hour work day….so yeah it wasn't a fun day, BUT IT WAS WORTH IT!

   July wasn't anything special, but it definitely wasn't a waste of time. I gained a lot of knowledge and I made a lot of new friends!

Love,

April Dolores

June: One Big Life Decision

   Overall, June was boring. Nothing exciting or worthwhile really happened besides one big life decision. For the most part, the month of June played out like this every week.

Monday: Nothing
Tuesday: Chemistry 1-4
Wednesday: Nothing
Thursday: Chemistry 1-4
Friday: Receptionist 6-9
Saturday: Cashier 7:45 am-GOD KNOWS WHEN
Sunday: Nothing

   Now that I look at this schedule it seemed like I had a lot of free time, but I remember always being busy for some reason….

   Now this big life decision was a scary decision to make. Beginning the third week of May I started my summer session one class. Now at the time, my SS1 class was Anthropology 105 (just basic cultural anthropology) and my major was also anthropology. The weeks before my SS1 began I was struggling with my major. I knew that I loved learning anthropology, but was it something I wanted to make a career out of? I was frustrated everyday because I had no career goals and had no idea where I would be in five or ten years. If any of you have been through that type of situation I sympathize with you! But anyways, after my anthropology class began towards the end of May, I had an epiphany while sitting outside on campus.
   I was reading an assigned research article for A105 while I looked up and saw nursing students walk across campus in their scrubs. I thought, 'hmmm, wearing scrubs everyday would make me feel super cool!' And that ladies and gentlemen, is what started off my interest in becoming a nursing major. I am by no means saying that was the only factor, I am just saying that is what kicked off the interest.
   After seeing the scrubs, I started thinking about my previous major choices…..I went from psychology, to education, and to anthropology but I still wasn't satisfied. One thing I always wanted to do for sure was help people. I wanted to make a difference in someones life, but I just didn't know which route to take in order to do that; but I had never considered nursing. Perhaps I never considered nursing because I started to become a queasy person or I didn't want to deal with blood, puke, guts, etc. But after seeing the scrubs, it shed a whole new light on the profession for some reason. It was obvious that God was trying to guide me towards a career in the nursing division.
   The number one thing that shined bright on the professor for me was the fact that I would finally be able to help people! On top of that, my grandmother that passed away before my birth was also a nurse. My dad always used to tell me to look into nursing since it was a great profession and his mother loved it; but every time he would tell me that, I already had my heart set on another major. But now everything was different, I truly looked deep inside to see if I could handle or succeed at being a nurse. The answer was a semi-strong yes.
   The reason I put 'semi-strong' is based on logical inferences. Psychologically, I feel as though I could handle taking care of peoples lives. Physiologically, I am very unsure of whether I will be able to handle blood/guts without getting nauseous. Hence, these are the reasons I put semi-strong. This is actually something I worry about often. What if I can't handle puke or blood? What if I get through much of my schooling and then realize nursing isn't right for me? What if I'm horrible at nursing? All of these questions seem to float around my brain frequently.
   I try to condition myself as often as I can. For example, when someone in my house cuts themself or has any medical problem I go and assess the situation. Often times I bandage the person up, fetch medicine, etc. This type of exposure will hopefully help prepare me for the brutal world of nursing. One thing I continuously tell myself is that, "If you are in the process of trying to save someones life, you are not even going to worry about the blood/guts/puke/etc. you will remain strong and do your job!" And believe it or not, telling myself this actually helps.
   After having these epiphanies and revelations during the first week of SS1 classes, I realized this profession would be right for me. The other phenomenal thing about nursing is that there are so many areas to branch into. If I don't like one area, I can transfer over to another, and I can always advance my education in the healthcare field. There were so many wonderful pros contributing towards becoming a nurse, that I couldn't pass up the opportunity to be a nursing major and save lives.
   All within those 48 hours or so, I changed from an anthropology major to a nursing major, I dropped my A105 class and quickly added the C110 class for SS1.
   I researched my university's nursing program and saw that I basically had all my prerequisite classes done for a pre-nursing major besides Life Chemistry and Anatomy&Physiology. Lucky for me, I was able to squeeze into that Chemistry class for summer session one right on time. From that moment on I have been meticulously preparing to get into the School of Nursing.

   So looking back at June 2013, there wasn't much going on event-wise, but there were many giant life-decisions happening. I am so pleased with my decision because I now have lists of career goals and I now have a vision of where I will be in five to ten years. Of course my oncoming years of education will be difficult, but I am willing to jump those hurdles in order to achieve my goal of saving people lives.



Oh, I completely forgot! I had also turned 20 this past June! Yay!




Love,
April Dolores