A New Chapter

Let us never consider ourselves finished, nurses. We must be learning all of our lives. –Florence Nightingale Work for a cause, not for applause. Live life to express, not to impress. Don’t strive to make your presence noticed, just make your presence felt. Wherever you go, go with all your heart. There are far, far…

Pinning and Precious Memories

On December 9th, our class celebrated our pinning ceremony. A pinning ceremony is a nursing-specific celebration of graduation from the nursing program. It signifies entry into the nursing field and was an incredibly special time to celebrate our nursing school journey with our family and friends. There were so many smiles and a few tears…

Exploring the Nursing Field

As the oldest of nine, I have experienced the joy of welcoming a new sibling into the world eight times. New birth never ceases to amaze me as I look down at their tiny little hands and feet and marvel that something so small can be so perfect. The wonder of new life never gets…

Going Into Fifth Semester

Is it possible that my fifth semester of nursing school is finally before me?! It seemed like a lifetime away when I first started the program, but now the end of my BSN journey is approaching quickly. It has been far from easy, but it has been one of the richest and most rewarding experiences…

The Power of Friendship

Many people will walk in and out of your life but only true friends will leave footprints in your heart… ~~Eleanor Roosevelt Friendship. Isn’t that one of the most beautiful words there is? It wasn’t until this past year that I truly realized how meaningful and precious true friends really are. Why is it that…

Finding My Why

One of the questions I have gotten asked more frequently than any other during my time in nursing school is, “Why nursing?” I remember feeling baffled the first time that I was asked this. I am always tempted to shoot back the cliche answer: “Because I want to help people!!” This is true, but I…

Taking a Break

It has been far too long since I have posted here!! The end of last semester came to a close, and I had good intentions of buckling right down to my NCLEX work and prepping for my HESI exit exam this fall. However, I realized quickly that I just needed to give myself a bit…

Critical Care Clinicals: My Experience

Critical Care: the very name of this course made me cringe when I started this semester! The complexity and intensity of care required for these patients completely intimidated me. I tried to go into my ER and ICU clinicals with an open mind, and I have to admit I was very pleasantly surprised by how…

Just Breathe

Breathe, just breathe Come and rest at my feet And be, just be Chaos calls but all you really need Is to just breathe Breathe. It sounds like such a simple statement, but do you know how powerful a single breath can be? Just think about it: how often do you consciously contemplate taking air…

A Letter To Myself on My 21st Birthday

It has been SUCH a long time since I have updated my blog. It feels like yesterday I was getting oriented to my new classes and clinicals, and now I am already halfway through the semester! I’m determined to post more frequent updates in the next couple weeks. It’s good to be back! Last month…