First Semester Experience

           I still can't wrap my head around the fact that our first semester is already coming to a close!  This semester has flown by.  I feel like I have grown so much as a nursing student within these past few months. I have experienced and gained so much knowledge in the hospital, classroom, and stimulation lab.  The stress, intense workload, and hectic schedule was worth it all in the end.  I can remember how nervous I was for my first day of clinical, I  felt so lost and out of place.  As time went on in the hospital I began to feel more comfortable,  I was able to provide more assistance towards the end to the patients and the staff.   I have grown so much as an individual this semester.   Now I am able to reflect on everything I have learned, looking back on old tests and quizzes it is so strange looking at the material I struggled with only a few months ago. I have acquired so much information that I am able to carry on in my nursing career.  This semester I have built a foundation and will build upon this knowledge every semester.  I am so excited to enter my second semester and learn about more specific and focused information.  I feel so blessed to have such a great first semester.  Our cohort is amazing and  I am so excited to grow as nurses with each individual.  I am excited for Christmas break; it's a time for us to unwind, spend time with our families, and prepare once again for another hectic semester of nursing school. 

My Thanksgiving Break....

                 Of course I am looking forward to one week away from nursing school! School has been so overwhelming lately, and I always have something I could be doing. It's been even more stressful since the semester is almost over.   I wish I could take an actual week long break from school where I can sleep in until 12 and do absolutely nothing. However, that's not the case :( My break will be full of catching up on reading I have been putting off, finishing up papers and projects, and studying for upcoming tests.  And as if all of that school work isn't ruining my break, to make it worst I am scheduled to work and have to get my wisdom teeth out (ALL 4). I am not looking forward to that, but it's the only time I can actually do it.  I have put it off long enough.  So please pray that I have a quick recovery so I can get down to all the school work.
                 On the bright side it is Thanksgiving which is my favorite holiday, and I do have the time to catch up and get things done. I am looking forward to Thanksgiving because I love to spend time with my family and eat. This Thanksgiving I will be spending time at home with my mom, dad, and little brother.  We will eat and be happy :) I feel I really do have a lot to be thankful for this year.  School has been so demanding, yet so rewarding.  I am lucky that I am able to extend my education and have a direct affect on people's lives.  I am also so grateful for health, mine, my families, friends, and classmates.  I love thanksgiving because it is a time for all of us to reflect on our blessing from the Lord.  I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving and use the time to relax.

My Experience at Skid Row

On October 4, our CBU nursing class attended the "Back to School Giveaway" at the Fred Jordan Mission.  When I got there I was surprised to see so many different organizations coming together to support underprivileged children. In N Out was there serving food, Foot Locker was providing brand new shoes,  and some students from Paul Mitchell were providing hair cuts.  It was an awesome experience to be apart of something so much greater than myself.  That day it was my job to escort groups of children through these different stations and help them find their sizes in shoes, jeans, and shirts.  My favorite part of  being an escort was seeing the children's faces when they received brand new shoes.  Their mouths would drop and their eyes would light up time and time again as they put on their new shoes for the first time.  I have never done any community service this hands on before.  Usually when I am assigned to do community service I will do something with children that were just like me.  Last year, I went to a private school and coached a soccer team.  Although, that is helpful to my community this experience has opened my eyes as to what I am really capable of doing.  It is my goal this semester to do something that will truly benefit my community.  This experience was an eye opener and I would love to participate in other events the Fred Jordan Mission has to offer. 

Finding Balance

Finding balance as a college student is hard, but finding a balance as a nursing student is even harder! The work is piled on every week and my to-do list in my agenda seems like it's in a font size of 2. Coming into the nursing program is like entering a new world; studying the night before an exam just isn't going to cut it anymore, and socializing with classmates about their weekend during a lecture is only your loss now. The program is so demanding, time consuming, and stressful. In order to be successful in the nursing program our time management, focus, and drive has to be on point. Every day I find myself wishing there were more hours in the day so I could get more homework done, but that's not the case. The program is only 3 weeks in and I feel it has taken over my life already! However, I believe we all need to find a balance between the nursing program, work, our spiritual life, and our social life. It seems impossible right now but as time goes on and we get more accustomed to the work load I believe setting time aside for other important things in life will get a little easier. Finding a proper balance will allow us to release some stress and to get our mind off the million things we have to do. Now the search for this balance will not be easy! We need to ease our way into creating time for other things in life with the nursing program still as our first priority. This will be a difficult journey, but I am excited to overcome the many battles the nursing program brings forth.