Thursday, March 15, 2012

My Passion

If you know me at least the slightest bit, you will know that nursing is my passion.  I love it!  I live it, I breathe it.  If you want to get my attention start talking about medical stuff and you will likely have a captive audience.  (Though, fair warning, be prepared to hear more than you could ever want to know about nursing.)  Nursing is my life because I love it and have let it seep into every inch of my life.

Today I was talking with my clinical instructor about how much I love nursing, but not just any nursing.  I specifically love women's health--which can be quite an awkward topic to talk about, fun fact.  Anyway, right now I am very torn as to what field to "specialize" in, or do my capstone/internship in.  I absolutely L-O-V-E Labor and Delivery, but I feel like you don't see as much variety in Labor and Delivery.  On the flipside, I enjoy emergency/critical care nursing, and I would learn a lot more diverse skills, though I don't think it's what I want to do for the rest of my life.

Blech!  I hate making decisions like this.  Fortunately, I have 6-8 months before I have to actually make these decisions.  Let's just hope I can actually make up my mind during that time.  Haha :-)

Friday, March 2, 2012

People Matter

This week, I cried.  I cried a lot.  I called home on the verge of tears at least 3 times, every time ending the call with a stuffy nose and red eyes.  I wasn't getting enough sleep, I had too much to do, I wasn't feeling motivated, I kept messing up, and I felt like a failure.

Well, things aren't quite as bad now.  I mean sure, I'm still not sleeping enough, I'm not very motivated to work hard, I can't fix any of the stupid mistakes I made, and I still feel inadequate.

The only difference from the beginning of my week and the end of my week has been attitude.  At the beginning of the week, I was so focused on me and how hard everything was.  I couldn't seem to see beyond myself and even consider someone else.  Everything changed on Wednesday, not because it got easier, but because I had other things that mattered besides me.  A friend had a birthday, my apartment complex had a big activity, I played volleyball with a bunch of friends... I could name several more things that have changed my week.



The one thing they all have in common?  People.  The commonality that helped me find myself again was spending time with people.  That sounds really strange, but when I'm having fun with my friends or getting to know new people in exciting environments, I am so much less important than I had thought.  My problems don't matter because people matter more, and to show people they matter is to spend time with them, care about them, serve them.  In return, you find that the problems you thought you had are nothing in comparison to the love you feel when you're surrounded by amazing people.