The Beginning of an Unknown Path

This past semester has been a big adjustment for me in many ways. I have been challenged in many ways and I feel like I have grown a lot as well. I have a group of friends that I have become a lot closer with. I love my family and I cherish all the special times we are together. At the end of summer, I made it a goal of mine for the next year to really grow in my personal walk with Christ and also to find out who I am and where God is calling me. With half of the year done, I feel like I have already grown in many ways, but I know that I am nowhere near where I hope to be.

Nursing school has obviously been a new challenge in my life these past few months and I have had my ups and downs on this journey so far. I honestly can say that nursing school doesn't really excite me much and I really struggle with wondering if this is what I should be doing. I have always wondered where God is leading my and what career path I should be on. I never really thought of nursing as a possible career until I picked it as my major when I chose CBU. When I saw my acceptance letter into the school of nursin I will be honest and say I wasn't super excited, because I knew all the challenges and how difficult this path can be. As you might guess, I like to know exactly what lays in front of me and I like to plan out my path step by step....this is something I have been working on changing.

Some things that have always interested me are helping people and anything medical. I have been on several ride alongs with my dad who is a firefighter and I love what he does. I just wasn't sure if that is what I wanted to do after high school, so that is why I picked nursing here at CBU. I usually don't become nervous for anything and I am a fairly confident and positive person, but there have been plenty of times over the last few months where I failed in those areas. It has been hard seeing students around me feel so excited to go clinical while I struggle to sleep the nights before I have my clinical. Clinical shifts are something that I always get uneasy about because I just feel so uncomfortable and I feel like I have no clue what to do sometimes, which is a problem that I don't like at all. These times make me really question if this is the right path for me.

These struggles have also allowed me to grow way more in my faith which has been a major comfort for me during the last couple of months. I know that God is leading my where he needs me and He has my path already prepared, all I need to do is to listen to His word and stay in constant communication with Him. When I am doubting why I am here, I think back to where God has put me currently and how there is a reason for me studying nursing at CBU. I know God has a plan for me with nursing because I love helping people, I enjoy learning about medicine, and I am only 19 years old and already this far in nursing. I have grown a lot with allowing God to steer me where He wants me and giving up control. Another thing that I have grown to love about nursing is that there are so many different opportunities for an RN, not necessarily just being next to a bed in a local hospital. Being adventurous is something that describes me well and I am totally open to whatever God might doing in my life with nursing. Whether I become a Med/Surg nurse, ER nurse, flight nurse, military nurse, school nurse, a nurse overseas, or some totally different profession I know that God is with me and leading my path. Having this mindset has allowed me to overcome the times of doubt and uncomfort because I know I am here for a reason and I can embrace this opportunity that the Lord has given me. I now can say that I am more excited for the upcoming years of nursing school and I am excited to see what opportunities God will lead me to. Instead of just trying to get through each day, I am now looking at the bigger picture and thanking God for the opportunities He has already given me with nursing. I can be excited to learn and grow as a student nurse because I have faith that I am on the right path, and even though I don't know what lies ahead of me I know that God is guiding me and I pray I can be used to further His kingdom in whatever opportunity that comes my way.

First Impressions

Over the past month I have been to Riverside Community Hospital 3 times for my clinical rotation. This has been a totally new thing for me because I have only previously been in a hospital a handful of times to briefly visit someone. It is safe to say that this has been a major learning process just adjusting to what it is like to be in the hospital, let alone work with patients. The first day we were allowed to follow a nurse and be assigned to a patient was a very interesting day that I won't soon forget. I met my nurse who seemed nice to me and was willing to have me follow her around the whole day. She then introduced my to my patient who was a heroin addict and didn't want anything to do with me. So instead, I pretty much just followed my nurse around. But, I found out that my nurse was a travel nurse so she didn't really know what to do in this hospital. She ended up just hiding around a corner and filling out her paperwork while I would interact with all of her patients and try my best to help them out. I learned a lot from this because I saw how my nurse was acting and it made me not want to be like her. One positive thing was that I was able to interact with a couple of very nice patients.

The second time we got to help patients was a really good day. I met my nurse who asked me to help her with some tasks and wanted me to teach me too. My patient was a great person who I ended up talking with for a few hours. He didn't mind me asking many questions and I felt like I was able to help his recovery a little bit by interacting with him. I was able to watch my nurse insert a foley catheter into my patient which was great because we learned how to do that after we returned from our clinical shifts.

Overall, so far I have been super nervous each morning before we actually arrive at the hospital because I just don't feel very comfortable at all with my skills. I feel like I don't quite know where to go, what to do, or what to say, but I do know that this will get better with time. One funny incident happened when I was sent to retrieve a vital sign machine. The machine was next to the bed of a very frail old lady who had been crying and screaming all morning. When I walked over to grab the machine, I felt a squeeze on my butt and I turned and saw the old lady with a huge smile on her face looking up at me. This totally took me by surprise and I quickly walked out of the room not even realizing what happened until later. But it did help keep her quiet for the next few minutes!

Serving At Skid Row

This past Thursday our cohort was blessed with the special opportunity to bless others who are not as fortunate as we are. We all had to wake up very early (which was probably the only bad part of the whole day) in order to drive to skid row in LA. Once we arrived at the Fred Jordan Mission on skid row, they started showing us what we would be doing that day. My group was going to be escorting young children through a maze of different booths where they would receive brand new shoes, socks, jeans, shirts, backpacks, school supplies, food, lotion, and even a fresh new haircut! I knew this was going to be really cool!

The first people I escorted consisted of two young kids and their parents (parents weren't actually allowed..). This was a bit of challenge because they didn't speak good english and the parents were in control for the most part, leaving me to only shadow them around. After the family was done, I walked back and met Josiah. Josiah was a 9 year old boy and we clicked from the start. He was super excited to get some new Nikes, especially a pair of Jordan's (he thought it was funny when I said that my name is Jordan). I asked him if he liked sports and he said that he liked football and basketball and his favorite teams were the Lakers and Raiders. This was great since I love sports too! I told him that I played both football and basketball and I played quarterback, which Josiah told me was his favorite position too. When we ended up getting his brand new Nikes, he was stoked! Then I told him it was time to get some clothes and he was even more excited. Someone handed him a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. He kept on asking when he could get his backpack. He picked out a blue backpack and grabbed the other things that came along with it. The last thing I asked him was if he wanted a haircut. He immediately said that he would love a new haircut. So I watched him get his hair trimmed and styled for a half hour, letting him know it was looking good as he smirked and looked away from me. Once he was done it was time to find his mom. When he found her, he ran to her and showed her everything he got. They both waved goodbye to me as I walked away.

Meeting Josiah was really blessing. It was amazing to see how excited he was for things that we take for granted every day! I felt like I was really able to connect with him. I always think about how God calls us to be a light shining in His world, and I felt honored that I could meet a young kid and be a positive influence in his life. Even if we only met for 45 minutes I hope that I made a difference in his life. He ended up changing my outlook on life and I won't ever forget our brief encounter. It was a great reminder of how blessed we are and how we should be thankful for everything He has given us.

The Poisonous Procrastination Bug

Have you ever said "I'll just do it later" or how about "We have enough time"? I think everyone has had a moment like that. Putting something important off until a later time is called procrastination which is extremely easy to do. There is always going to be something more fun than doing homework or studying, but it is hard to ignore those things when we are reading a boring and complex textbook. 

Procrastination is something that I am constantly struggling with. Facebook always seems to find a way on my computer screen or I somehow sit down in front of the TV or I end up in a meaningless conversation with someone, when I know that I need to be doing homework instead. Procrastination will lead to many problems that could have easily been resolved. It can lead to poor academic performance because a student is not giving 100% to the task. It might also lead to lack of sleep, increasing stress, or even a larger stack of homework to do the next day. No matter what, procrastination will never help make a situation better.

I have tried a lot of different things and different study techniques to help overcome the always constant temptation to procrastinate. One thing that I do which has really helped me is to make a list in the beginning of the week with all the different homework assignments and tests that I need to take care of over the next week. Then I divide the list up and try my best to accomplish all the designated tasks for each and every day. I also think that it's very helpful to be good communicators with professors and to always ask questions about specific due dates. Turning off the computer and even going to the library are ways that I make sure I am not going to be distracted. The most important thing to avoid procrastinating is to PLAN AHEAD and not get behind in any subject. Hopefully these tips will help us all overcome our sinful desires to be lazy and procrastinate.

www.fanpop.com/spots/procrastination/images

First Ever Blog

So here we go.. 

I have never been on someone's blog nor have I ever thought about creating my own blog. This means that it might take me a long time to get used to how to use this. This first post is just a trial run so I will be able to adjust and make changes. This is weird..