Nov '08: Decided over a couple glasses of wine and Thanksgiving dinner that I wanted to be a nurse.
Dec '08: I registered for pre-reqs on Christmas Eve.
Jan '09: I started A&P 101, Math 118, and Psych.
May '09: Rocked my A&P class. Signed up for another
Aug '09: Struggled through an online A&P 102, needed a ridiculously high grade to get an A. Beat it.
Aug '09: Took my TEAS (entrance) exam completely blindly immediately after returning from a trip to visit best friend in Chicago. Got a 97, by the grace of God. (I didn't realize there was preparation involved. This is not me being cocky. I got lucky.)
Aug '09: Found out we were expecting Leo.
Sept '09: I got my acceptance letter. Called Adam asking what I was going to do. He responded, "You're going to go to nursing school."
Jan '10: Started the program. Terrified.
Feb '10: Started clinicals. More terrified.
April '10: Had baby Leo.
May '10: Finished the first semester.
May-August '10: Had the best summer of my life.
August '10: Back to school. Found out I could graduate earlier than planned. Elated.
Nov '10: Applied for Student Externship at WHS.
Jan '11: Enrolled in Mental Health Nursing. Had a lot of free time. Consequently...
Feb '11: Found out we were expecting new baby.
Mar '11: Got selected for one of 15 spots (out of 120 applicants) for externship at WHS.
Apr '11: Had a terrible time with school. Second-guessed entire decision. Made it through anyway.
May '11: Finally found a calling in Maternal/Child.
May '11: Started last 10 weeks. Kind of enjoy it. A lot.
June '11: Counting down days.
July '11 (July 12, 2011, to be exact): My last day of lecture. Here I sat:
Note: It's a six-hour lecture. Lunch is required.
I started school when I was 29. I remember being discouraged by the fact that I would be 31 when I graduated. Patrick was to be three. It seemed like an eternity away. Here I am, 31, and Patrick is three. The truth is, it was going to happen anyway. The difference is that I went for it, and even though the time was going to tick by regardless of my decision, I am much happier now than I could have imagined then.
Also starting school, I didn't expect to make close friends. I was grown. I had close friends. Then, on the first day of school, I timidly sat next to Courtney. I swore she didn't like me. Two years later, I spend as much time talking to her as I do my family. We make a good team. Here we are, on the last day of class, looking pretty much exactly as we did on the very first (even with a baby in tow.)
The rush of emotions at the end of this marathon is indescribable, and maybe I sound ridiculous. I'm very (very, very, very) proud of all of us. My friends, my family, everyone deserves a little recognition. So, thank you. Really, from the bottom of my heart, thank you. All of you.
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