A Letter to Me

Dear First Day of Nursing School Student (Me):

Look at you.  All dressed in your red UNLV scrubs and ready to take on the nursing world.  The confidence is evident in your face.  But here are ten things you don't know, but will soon enough.

(1)  Within a few days of this photo, you're going to cry.  What you are about to take on will overwhelm you with feelings of inadequacy, mom-guilt, and uncertainty.  One thing you learn is that crying is ok, and once you do it, you feel better.  You'll also appreciate a husband who doesn't care if he gets his shoulder covered in tears and makeup.

(2)  You're not going to get all A's.  There will be times that getting a C on an exam will be considered a win.  You won't get A's because you don't know everything...and that's ok.  That's why you're in school.  You're learning, and you and I will continue to learn for a long time to come.

(3)  What you thought you would love to do when you are done with nursing school won't be.  Pediatrics is your passion right now.  But in seven months, you'll have an incredible OB instructor who will help you see who you really need to be.  And it's more exciting than you can even comprehend right now.

(4)  You are going to laugh.  A lot.  And it will make the stress bearable.

(5)  The shoes you are wearing right now will be killing your feet by the beginning of your 4th semester, and you'll end up replacing them.  You also will need compression socks to get through 12-hour shifts.  Just a heads up on that one.

(6) Your gray hairs will multiply at a frightening rate and at the same time, your face will break out often.  Let's just attribute it to the joys of aging with added stress for good measure.

(7) You will realize just how amazingly supportive your husband and children are in the accommodations they make for your classroom/study/clinical schedule.  They will take on more responsibilities at home and in the process, learn important life skills that they might not have otherwise discovered.

(8)  You will see things that would have grossed you out a few months ago.  But because you see them through a nurse's eyes, it will be cool, nay....downright awesome.  You'll also be able to talk about disgusting bodily functions while eating.  But you need to remember to not do that at the dinner table with your family. They won't appreciate it.

(9)  You will learn over and over again He is in control.  You think you know it now, but you have no idea how much He will help you as long as you put your priorities straight.  Finding that balance is hard and you'll have to re-discover it again and again, but He will never let you down.  You are on His mission.  You are His.  Never forget that.

(10)  You will look back over your nursing school time and realize that it was a magnificent time for you to learn and SHINE.

Now, let's you and I go forward, unafraid of the future and ready to make a difference.

As your husband will tell you numerous times: "You got this."

Love,
Venessa

PS - You think you'll be done with school forever after this, but you'll start making plans to go back for your Master degree when Noodle graduates from high school, thanks to that OB instructor.  Thought you might want to know.