One of the first steps of a college students journey is choosing a major and minor. It's the most common question asked at your graduation parties.
"What school are you going to? What are you going to be studying?" At eighteen-years-old we are supposed to know what we want to do with our lives. Even though statistically speaking, most college students change there major at least once. There are many aspects that have to be taken into accounts when deciding. But for me, the choice wasn't always clear.
I didn't choose my major, it chose me.
If you were going to ask me four years ago what I saw myself going to school for, I don't think it would have been nursing. Four years ago, my life changed forever, I began to see life in a completely different way. Four years ago, my grandmother died. Growing up my grandparents played a vital role in helping me become the person I am today. We had a close bond that was indescribable.
Four years ago, I was a junior in high school stressing about the ACT.
Losing her was the most unexpected thing that had ever happened to me. In the course of a week my life changed forever, I had a new outlook. I became close to those who took care of her. I saw possible future for myself. The nurses didn't just take care of her, they took care of my family. They came to her funeral, they became something so much more than their job title. But most importantly, they were the type of people I would strive to be. Her death was far from easy, but it changed me in the best of ways. That summer I spent back up in the hospital volunteering. I was able to see first hand what the nurses and aids did, it gave a strong idea if that was something I wanted to do. That summer I completed 122 volunteer hours. I quickly learned that I wanted to be that person. I wanted to make a difference.
Fast forward to four years later, I'm a sophomore in college as a pre-nursing student. The classes are tough and the workload is heavy. But what keeps me going is remembering why I started in the first place. After a couple, difficult classes its easy to forget why you wanted to do this. I know first hand that the journey towards success isn't always an easy one. But that's part of what makes you who you are. It's not the struggles you face that define you. It's how you took those struggles and obstacles to become a better person.
Not every day is an easy one. I miss her and would do anything would to hear her voice one more time. But because of that grief, it motivates me to overcome anything.
And one day, she'll be looking down watching me take care of patients the same way the nurses took care of her.
