I remember the moment I decided to become a nurse. Someone asked me, "So, what are you going to major in when you get to college?" Without any previous thought to this question I just blurted out, "I want to be a nurse." I was shocked at what had just come out of my mouth. I hadn't yet thought about what I wanted to do beyond college, but in that moment a decision was made. I've never been more confident about a decision in my life than I was at that moment. Two years later and my major is decidedly nursing.

I always see those cheesy, pixelated images of a teddy bear wearing a stethoscope on your Facebook feed that has a phrase similar to "nurses are angels in disguise" or something cliche and laugh. But, truth be told, this might actually be the case. I myself am not a certified nurse yet, but every nurse I have shadowed or known has been one of the most caring and selfless people I have ever met.

Sometimes when I tell people that I am a nursing major I get really positive reactions, but other times I get really negative reactions. I have people lecture me on poor pay and crappy hours and rude doctors. But all I can ever seem to respond with is "I know. Why else would I still be doing this?" What I mean by this is, nursing is not easy. It is not for the faint of heart or the weak.

Nurses are aware of the pay they receive and the hours they get. They are aware of the government regulations and the grumpy doctors. They know. They are in it for the patients. They are in it because they were born with an overabundance of light and love in their hearts. For some reason they were born to care when no one else does.

Of course nurses don't enjoy seeing people in pain or find comfort in treating a child who has two months to live. Nobody does. But the nurse knows she is needed there. The patients need her and the families need her. She knows that she is exactly where she is supposed to be.

In the end it is worth the countless hours of classes and training, sweat and tears. It is worth it because of the amount of compassion that is brought into the world and the amount of love that is so selflessly given without a second thought. So the next time someone rattles off a list of reasons not to be a nurse to you all you need to do is look in the mirror.

Remember: You are the compassion a dying person will receive before they pass on. You are the love given to someone who does not even know their own name. You are the comfort given to a worried mother. You are the solution. You are the love. You are a nurse.