A new adventure

A few weeks ago I headed out on my day off to find out information. I have been thinking about going back to school for a long time. I have thought long and hard about what it is that I want to go to school for. I want to do something that I enjoy, that I will enjoy learning about and that would keep my interest, and I wanted something that I could have a career with and make decent money and that would provide me with the much needed insurance that our family depends on.

One day I was looking at job posting and found that there was a transplant coordinator position open. I looked at the job description because I knew I would be good at that position. I have lived it for the past few years. Yes there are things that I would need to learn but overall I think I would do a good job at that position. The only downfall.... I am not a nurse and I do not have my Bachelors in Nursing which is a major requirement for the job. As I thought about it I knew then that I needed to go and get my nursing degree. Now the hurdle was actually going through and doing it.

I knew I had to go to school but that scared me. I was scared that I wouldn't be able to do it. Scared that I would not be able to spend time with my kids, scared that I wouldn't be there as a mom, scared that I wouldn't be able to do work, school, mom, clean the house, cook dinner, do laundry and everything else. Things kept coming up that made me think more and more about going to school. I kept thinking how hard it would be but I still had that nagging thought of going and if other people can do it then I can do it too. The next thing that I thought about was the money. Where would I get it? I have to work and go to school since we depend on my income and I carry the insurance for our family, but that nagging feeling was still there. And finally, where should I go? The University, a private school like Steven Henager or the community college. I also didn't want to start something and not finish.

A few weeks ago I decided to head to SLCC and find out what, if any, financial aide was available and how much I would qualify for. I also wanted to know what classes I needed to take for the nursing programs and when they were offered. When I first got there I was very discouraged. I didn't know if this would be possible. No one could tell me how much financial aid I would qualify for since I needed to fill out the information online. I finally talked to a academic advisor and at first I was discouraged because she stated that once in the nursing program it is a full time commitment and I didn't know if I could manage it. But then as we got talking I found out more information. There are 5 pre-requisite classes that must be taken prior to applying to the nursing program. Those five classes would take about 18 months to finish by taking 1-2 classes at a time and going through the summer. (I don't want to do more than that since most of those classes are science classes and labs) At this time there is a 2 year wait for nursing school so if I complete the classes and then apply I will begin nursing school in approximately 4 years from now. In those two years I can take other classes that I will need to take just not as prerequisites. Then in four years I will be able to continue the nursing degree. By that time the kids will all be in school full time and who knows what will happen in the meantime as far as jobs go. As I was talking with the advisor I got this overwhelming feeling of peace and the feeling that this is what I need to be doing. As I have thought about this and prayed about it I have had this need of being able to provide for my kids and that I need to be able to have a good career that will provide for them financially and make sure that we have the medical coverage that is needed. I have felt so much peace during the process of making this decision and I KNOW that this is what I need to be doing right now. I feel like it is the right time and things will fall into place as I make the decisions that need to be done right now. I am also in a position at work where I have a really good schedule that will allow me time on Mondays and Tuesdays to be home and off early on some of the days and I hope that I will be able to keep this schedule in the months to come.

So come January 11 I will be embarking on a new adventure. I am excited and nervous and scared. But I know that this is what I need to do. I am actually really excited to learn. It is amazing at how I wish that I had this attitude back when I was attending college before. I did not have this overwhelming desire to learn more and I hope and pray that it continues. I hope that I will have the desire to do good in school and gain some of my brothers ambition to get through it and to get good grades and accomplish the things that I set out to do. I have watched my brother go through medical school and he is a great example to me of setting out and accomplishing his goal and doing a good job at it and I hope that I can do the same.