Awake!

“Awake, O sleeper, rise up from the dead, and Christ will give you light.” -Ephesians 3: 14 NLT

Friday, January 28, 2011

Why Nursing?

Why Nursing?
Draft version 1.0

As child when I grew up I wanted to run an orphanage, write books or own a summer camp. In high school, I knew I most wanted to work with children and stories but I didn’t know how to make either interest work as a stable career.


I needed a job:
-working with people
-with the possibility of travel
-and reasonable starting income/job security (mostly for my parents’ sake, I tend to be more idealistic than pragmatic)


Based on these criteria, I applied into nursing straight out of high school.
And discovered I loved it.
(good thing because the degree was not cheap!)


Not only did it fit the criteria but it was satisfying in a variety of other ways.

Additional things to love about nursing:
-Helping people with the “little things” (e.g. the art of positioning pillows, scrubbing itchy backs, setting up at meals)
-Endless new things to learn (overwhelming at times but awesome)
-Being a networker in the healthcare team (communicating back and forth with PT, OT, Physicians, Nutritionists, Lab Personnel, Pharmacists, and more)
-Opportunities to work with a variety of populations and in different specializations (e.g. elderly, newborns, medicine, surgery, palliative, community, etc.)
-More chocolate in a single Christmas time shift than can be accrued trick or treating


Not that everything about being a nurse is lovely (cough-night shifts-cough) but this post is why nursing not why not nursing. ☺

Saturday, January 01, 2011

2011 "Wishes"

As per tradition...

1) Write a first draft of a story outside of NaNoWriMo

2) EPIC road trip!

3) At least 2 nursing courses

4) Memorize something especially lovely on the piano

5) Play a song on the guitar

6) Set aside a Spanish only day with JoBro

7) Choreograph 3 dances (any style)

8) Go camping

9) Read through a BBC book list

10) Hopskotch

11) Blog 10 "whys"

12) Read the Gospels every month

13) Arrange monthly night out or in for parents

14) Fill my current journal

15) Add to savings account monthly

16) Have an organized bedroom

17) Figure out cooking schedule

18) Take a dance class (at least one!)

19) Memorize "thank you" in at least 4 more languages

20) Get a student discounted swim pass and use it

21) Visit somewhere new on the Island

22) Have a karaoke night with the Spensts/Ragans

23) Keep memorizing Psalm 119

24) Make a yummy green drink

25) Laser tag

26) Personalized USANA webpage

27) Meet Grandma Miles

28) Spray a fire extinguisher

29) Do an "author" photo shoot with Pure Emotion Photography

30) Have a tea party or other event with mailed invitations

31) Go on a blind date

32) Buy new nursing shoes

33) Volunteer at camp

34) Have an organized bathroom

35) Write to my sponsored child

36) Blueberry picking hike again!

37) Arrange the 2011 family Christmas photo

38) ML for NaNoWriMo again!

39) Visit the local aquarium

40) Organize the family bookshelves to Mom's satisfaction without letting her give away any more books :)

41) IV starts!

42) Shabbat with the Byes

43) Plan either Uganda trip or KoS Summer Olympics trip (or BOTH)

44) Get a totally different haircut (preferably from Liz-Phoenix)

45) Be in the Land of the Living Skies (if only while passing through)

46) Watch season 4 of Alias

47) Write true stories of other people

48) Listen ;)

... and much much more!