Many Firsts...

  I made it! My FIRST day of nursing school! I was a ball of emotions- scared (or terrified), excited, anxious, happy, sad. At any given moment I felt all of these and more. Terrified- because unlike many others I didn't have a lot of friends that I had gone through pre-reqs with because I was working all the time and I didn't know what was coming next.  Excited- because I knew that this was what I wanted to do and I wanted to get moving forward on it. Anxious- because I had no idea what to expect and I had no control over it. Happy- because I was finally seeing my dream come true. Sad- because I knew that my life was changing and nursing school would become my new life for the next 2 years so I was mourning the loss of what I had gotten used to in the past.
  I walked into class confident that I would do great and that no matter what anyone told me I was going to always get great grades in nursing school, after all this is what I was meant to do. I found the girl I sat with during orientation and who I had talked with over the summer about things like what pants to buy and how nervous I was. (Side note: It helps to have someone like that to talk with who is in the same situation you are. I highly suggest if you aren't close with anyone at first to attempt to make a friend in orientation so you have someone to bounce things off of) It turned out Ashley and I were in for a roller coaster ride over the next few months. Our first class was kind of like every other one except that we were told about nursing, how HCC's program worked and all the ways that you can fail out. (Failing skills check offs; missing too many classes, labs, clinicals or a combination; having below a 75% average on exams, failing clinicals.) We also learned that for our first lab we would be giving each other bed baths! If I remember correctly there wasn't a single person who was happy with the idea. We were allowed to wear swimsuits but even that didn't ease many concerns. (It turned out ok and we laugh about it now) Talk about stress! I was still determined that I was going to do great and that I wouldn't worry about that 75% average because I would have a higher average than that! I dove in head first to my assignments and me being a person who never really studied before (I didn't have to) I learned early how much work this was really going to be, but I still pushed on. I read everything, did questions at the end of the chapters, made sure all my homework was completed, and worked at home to practice any skills I could.
    Our first skills check off was blood pressure and pulse. I practiced on everyone (including kids in my family) during our Labor Day cookout and thought I did pretty good. The morning of the check off I practiced more. My cousin Bobby, fiance (at the time) Tim, and my grandmother (I'll refer to her as Nanny) all let me practice on them before I headed to the school. I did great hearing Bobby and Tim's but for some reason I couldn't get Nanny's at all. I started worrying that I was going to fail my first checkoff because I couldn't hear Nanny's blood pressure. I got to school, still worried, said a prayer and was lucky enough to have one of the 3 guys in my class as my partner. This was lucky because his blood pressure was nice and loud and there was no missing the systolic and diastolic sounds! So I passed my first check off! Our first exam was coming up fast though...

The Beginning

      I decided that I wanted to be a nurse at a young age. In going to hospitals with my grandparents and learning more about their heart conditions and how to best care for them I discovered my passion for nursing. Interacting with the nurses at Johns Hopkins, University of Maryland, Washington County, and numerous doctor's offices I increasingly became impressed with how they cared for my grandparents and our family. Fast forward to me finally finishing enough pre-requisites to apply for the Nursing program. In March of 2009 my life changed forever. My husband (who was my fiance at the time) brought the mail in and handed me an envelope from HCC. In it was what I had been waiting for for so long, my acceptance letter to the nursing program! I was so excited I wanted to start right then, pre-reqs were awful for me, I hated having to take many of them because I knew what I wanted. Orientation was not until May so I had some time to calm down and prepare for the hardest schooling I would have to take.
        In the weeks I was waiting for orientation I went through a difficult challenge, my grandfather passed away. He was always my cheerleader and always knew how to pick me up when I was down, he gave the best advice and was the one who taught me about the importance of hard work. I wasn't sure how I could do nursing school without his support because he was my best friend. Yes, I still had my grandmother (who was and is amazing), my parents, my husband, and my best friend but losing Pappy was a huge blow to me and my confidence. On the day we were going to go out shopping for my supplies (white pants, shoes, stethoscope, and all the other fun nursing school items) I was cutting my grandfathers hair for the last time and prepping for his viewing and funeral. I learned a valuable lesson that I still carry with me today- tomorrow is not promised, don't take for granted people and situations instead take advantage if the time you have.
          I made it through orientation, made a good friend and managed to still get all of my supplies and books together in time although I was more nervous than I had ever been. I realized as I received my uniform tops, my books, my sphygmomanometer and things from my mother-in-law (she is an RN) that my dreams were finally coming true. Although I was dealing with the hardest time of my life, I was still managing to be truly happy. Throughout the summer I became increasingly nervous for my first day of class. Finally, it came.