Why I Wanted to Become a Nurse

         When people ask me “why did you want to become a nurse?” I never really have a definitive answer. There was never an “aha” moment, you know the moment that gave you the epiphany that “yes this is my destiny, I am meant to do this.” For me, it was an accumulation of little things throughout my life. The first was when I was finally old enough to understand the full story of my brother’s brain cancer. My brother was diagnosed in 1999 at 7 years old with brain cancer and had to endure 2 years of treatments. He is alive and well today, but it was hell for my family. I was only 2 years old when it all happened so I don’t remember much. So when my parents told me the story, they kept acknowledging the nurses they had. They remembered all their names and were still so thankful for them because they not only took care of my brother, but they also took care of my parents, my sister, my other brothers, and myself. I was young when I heard the story and what stuck with me were these nurses and how they made my family feel safe and comforted during this difficult time.. I remember thinking “I want to make someone feel better during a bad time.”. The second thing was watching scenes from “Greys Anatomy” with my mom and thinking how cool all the medical stuff was, from then I would act out the scenes with my stuffed animals. You should have seen me when I was 9 yelling “CLEAR!” and shaking my stuffed Tiger named Cuddles. The acting out medical scenes didn’t stop for a few years, I even remember putting toilet paper over my shoulders trying to make it a lab coat and wrote “Dr. Maddy” on it every time I wanted to do a scene. The last moment was a bit more realistic, I was 17 and deciding what I wanted to study in college. I knew I wanted something in the medical field but was unsure exactly what I wanted to do? I thought doctor like every teenager exploring the medical field, but a taste of reality of needing to do a extra 10 years of school and needing to take calculus steered me away from that path. Then my mom mentioned nursing and how she believed that fit me as a person. She even asked “remember those nurses I told you about who helped your brother? I think THAT is what you’re meant to do.” She believed that my caring and helpful personality would benefit myself and others as a nurse rather than a doctor or PA.

         So that’s what then started this whole journey. From that point on I worked hard to get into nursing school and over the years leading up to it, I kept realizing more and more that I was meant to do this which drove me harder in my pursuit to get into nursing school. Once nursing school started and I was working in an actual hospital, I had moments of doubting myself. I kept doubting if nursing was really for me, especially when I did not do well on an exam or I made a mistake during clinical. Although, there were more good moments than bad moments that reaffirmed this dream of mine. The bad stuff actually taught me to learn from them and embrace the good stuff. It made me believe “If I can do this and get through it, then I can get through anything.” So here we are now three months away from getting my BSN after working years to get where I am today, and I could not be more excited. I wanted to become a nurse for my love of medicine, but I also want to be a small light for people during a time that can be one of the worst for them. I want to problem solve and critically think, put things together like a puzzle while giving the best care for people in need.

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