I was blessed with many opportunities and experienced much more than I had expected. After traveling to a wedding in Georgia and visiting friends in Maine, I settled down at home to master my summer microbiology class. Guided by an organized, competent teacher, I found the class challenging, but not overwhelming. The subject matter (especially in lab) was far more fascinating than I had expected. Molten agar, orange mold, and flames—how much more exciting could it get?
While I was taking this class, several students from the summer anatomy and physiology class hired me as a tutor. It proved helpful for me, also, as teaching the information helped solidify difficult concepts in my own mind. Teaching receptive, interested people about the human body is thrilling. I love anatomy, and I love explaining it even more! The complexity and beauty of the human anatomy continue to boggle and amaze me.
After I completed the academic half of the summer, Camp Hope Haven, a local camp for underprivileged children, hired me as a lifeguard for four weeks. After spending the majority of the year indoors at a desk, I found the physical, outdoor work of helping kids learn to swim a helpful change. Working as a lifeguard and swimming instructor also gave me time to reflect on the past year and think about the coming one.
In doing so, I realized how much fear has been a part of my life. Last year, I was terrified of getting low grades the first semester, so I worked frantically and racked up as much extra credit as possible in every class. As a result, my relationships with friends lost priority. During spring semester, this continued, but once the summer began, I realized how unbalanced my perspective had been. My academic life was driven by fear instead of joy, so I frequently worried about school instead of enjoying it. After thinking about it this summer, I realized I could have enjoyed more time with people and still earned all As. This year, I want to be driven by joy and gratitude rather than fear. I need to ignore my inclinations toward fear and, instead, simply enjoy the material I am learning and relax enough to enjoy the people around me. Fear is incapacitating; joy and gratitude are empowering.
When I become a nurse, I think this attitude will be essential. Patients need someone who is confident and joyful enough to spend time caring for them on an emotional as well as physical level. If, because of fear, I focus only on the facts of physical care, the care I provide will not be holistic.
By reflecting on the past year and learning more about myself in the process, I hope to be better prepared for the coming semester, which starts officially this Saturday. I am so excited to officially begin nursing classes and to interact more with the nursing faculty at Old Dominion University! My textbooks arrived a few days ago, and I got ridiculously distracted reading about how to change the collar on a tracheostomy patient. I can’t wait to wear my ODU nursing polo, tote my books to class, and start learning!
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| My textbooks arrived a few days ago! |
For Reflections on Nursing Leadership (RNL), published by the Honor Society of Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau International.
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