Attempting Ambition

As some of you may know I was accepted to go to Kenya in April of 2013. This trip will allow me and other fellow nursing students go into an underprivileged area and give medical care to many of the impoverished and sickened people of Kenya. As I am truly excited for the trip, I am also a bit apprehensive.  I am selfish. I am spoiled. I am stubborn.  These are my three worst qualities.  I am selfish. Being raised as an only child my life consisted of MY own toys MY own room, MY own bed, MY own food, MY own parents, and MY own dog.  In becoming an adult, I attempt to be less selfish, but I have yet to tell that quality to leave and not let the door hit it in its rear on the way out. I have an immense amount of desire to change that attribute that is so caustic in my life. As you can see, a selfish person wanting to go do good in a third world country seems a bit odd. I will be truthful and tell you it is not just a selfless act. I believe that a trip to Kenya will help with the pr

Nothing makes me lose my mind more than when I’m walking through the mall and somebody steps out of a store right in front of me and walks slowly. Why didn’t they look? I would have looked. I do look. It might only take less than two seconds for me to skirt around said person, and resume my regular mall-cruising speed, but that’s enough time to make my eyes harden, my teeth clench and wish I could have pushed said person down and watched them cry. It’s enough for my mind to start getting self-righteous. If I’m not careful, I end up in an internal dialogue about certain basic courtesies people should uphold in public, or maybe a half-daydream about how the oblivious lady in front of me must live a life of total obliviousness, wandering into busy streets or onto active construction sites, all without a clue that she may be affecting people’s lives with her deplorable lack of awareness. In either case, I end up feeling agitated, and slightly better than her. The basis of

#1. Seven days of the week sleep in a nice warm bed with my husband next to me and one spoiled fur baby snoozing next to us. #2. Six of the days I wake up exceedingly early to drag my happy ass to school or work.  #3. Five days of the week I shower and shave my legs.  #4. Four days of the week I eat a home cooked meal with the family. #5. Three days of the week I eat out. #6. Two days of the week I stop at the gas station for a large fountain drink.  I do #6 for three reasons: 1.        Because I LOVE fountain drinks more than any other type of drink (excluding margaritas). Cans and plastic bottles don’t do it for me like a cold, crisp carbonated fountain Coke does. 2.        Because I am a sleep deprived nursing student who needs caffeine to make it through even the shortest of lectures. 3.        Because it is a treat that even on my husband’s salary as an elementary teacher, I can still afford. #7. One day of the week I give a homeless couple

In my quest to obtaining my BSN (Bachelors of Science and Nursing), I have, and will continue, to spend a lot of my time researching, experimenting and observing different things in a clinical setting. In one of my many random thoughts through out my day of attempting to gather my materials to start this next week, and contemplating how after 4 days of nothing I go back to school and actually give a rats ass about anything being taught to me, I began to have a random set of thoughts. These thoughts led to the conclusion that if everyone used the principal of the scientific method in life, a great deal of our personal problems could vanish. Consider it self-experimenting. This self-experimenting stuff boils down to a few simple steps: Think of a way in which you might live a better, happier life Do that thing — at least for a short time Reflect on what you learned and change your behavior accordingly It’s not rocket science.  In fact, it would be a stretch to call it science

Once you’ve discovered your passion (so we are told) your life will become drenched in meaning and purpose. When you know what your life is about, you can face each morning with energy and vigor. You’ll no longer procrastinate. All your bad habits will fall away. Not even rainy days or Mondays will get you down. So we are told. For a long time, I believed my passion would strike me in a moment of inspiration, like a bolt of lightning. My passion would descend from the heavens in a blaze of glory, and I would suddenly know the purpose of my life. A booming Hollywood trailer voiceover would tell me exactly what I should be doing and when. From that moment, my life would have meaning and my problems would disappear. I know I am going to be a nurse, this is certain (given I don't screw up too bad in school), but life is much more than a job. I wanted a purposeful, passionate epiphany - STAT. I also believed I should be able to call down the lightning bolt of pass

This piece is dedicated to all of my former teachers, my friends who are teachers and those aspiring to be teachers.  I debated for more than a week whether I could actually write a piece on this particular situation that I witnessed. I wasn’t confident that I could capture the shear amount of beauty and love present in this story.   I am still not completely sure I can convey my extremely full heart as I write, but I intend to share this story, because it is something that moved me tremendously.  I was working at the hospital. My patient for the day was a 19 year old female. She overdosed on pain medicine. She was small in size and meek in demeanor. Her name was Lisa. She was quiet, and she was deaf. I wave to her, completely unsure how to communicate with someone who doesn’t hear or speak. I rack my brain for ideas and finally grab a piece of paper…    “Good morning, my name is Liz. I will be sitting with you today.” She smiles and shakes her head up and down in u