2011

One of my favorite things to do on New Year's Eve is to reminisce of all the things that happened in the past year. An entire year can pass in a blink of an eye, so I think it's important to be reminded of all God's blessings or the challenges he's helped you overcome. Even though sometimes a year can feel like it's speeding by, mine felt like it was an eternity. But I was okay with that because I had a great year! I had so many things on my "to-do" for 2011 and I almost accomplished all of them. I must say 2011 was definitely my year!

The year always starts out great because I get to celebrate my birthday! But also, I got to celebrate a 2 year anniversary with my best friend. This year would have been a complete struggle without Jeffrey by my side. I am so thankful to have him in my life and he has helped make this year a great one.

As most of you know, elephants are my greatest passion in life. I think God put them on this earth just for me :) So naturally, I've always wanted to ride an elephant! Last year I felt like everyone I knew was traveling overseas and showing me all the pictures of elephants they got to see (or ride). Sadly, I was more depressed than excited for them. But this year was my year to ride my very first elephant! And her name was Dixie. In April, I was taken on a surprise trip by Jeffrey to the Santa Ana Zoo, where they give (secret) elephant rides. I say "scecret" because I have been trying for years to find a place that allows elephant rides and have found nothing. But Jeffrey wanted to bring a smile to my face, and planned this most unexpected surprise. Not only did me make me smile, but he brought tears to my eyes. So I got to ride Dixie the elephant. She was perfect. I think it was love at first sight. My next goal, now, is to feed an elephant!

This year was also filled with my greatest accomplishment. Graduation! I am still in disbelief that I graduated from college. Those four years were a huge struggle filled with sleepless nights. Gradation was so wonderful spending time with everyone I love and hold dear to my heart.

Another thing on my to-do list was to go to a Rascal Flatts concert. This has been a long awaited event, but in Septermber Amy and I both went to our first rascies concert. I'm so glad I could spend that time with my sister because I miss her so much, and we had the best time. And the concert was beyond amazing. I can't wait to see them again. Yes, now I'm getting greedy.

Here are some other events that happened this year: first time in Las Vegas, spending time in Modesto, taking an art class with my grandma, running my 3rd half marathon.

I've really been focusing on the good things that have happened this year. I'm not saying it didn't have it's downs, because it did...a lot of them. But sometimes you really have to focus on what is good to over come the bad. One of the bad things was my cousin passing away in april. It was a very emotional time on my family and God has shown me that He is holding my precious life in his hands. With all of the hardships, God is telling me He is in control.

Of course, I haven't forgotten about getting accepted into nursing school! That was also a difficult time this year when I first heard I was not accepted into the program, but as you can see God knew exactly what He was doing. I cannot wait for school to start and start fresh. It's time to begin a new year. God is amazing!

Nightmare

And so it begins...the start of my nursing nightmares. I had my first nightmare last night, where a series of unfortunate events occurred. I think trying to explain a dream to someone is one of the hardest things to do, but I'll try my best.

I woke up the morning of my first day of nursing school, to look at the clock and see that class started two hours ago. I was in a rush to get over there and was mortified I overslept. So I grabbed my books (which happened to be the wrong ones) and hopped on the bus. The entire bus ride I was in panic mode trying to figure out how I was going to walk into class unnoticed. When I got on campus I walked into a dark classroom, where the professor was giving a powerpoint presentaiton. I took a seat to find that Jeffrey was sitting right next to me. I looked at him and he kept whispering and asking me why I was so late. He wanted to surprise me on my first day, but I was actually embarrassed by the gesture. As I'm trying to explain to Jeff what happened, the professor asks me a question about the lecture and I just had a blank stare with nothing to say. It was awful. After the lecture everyone was handed what looked like a child's play toy (it was one of those yellow boxes with the shape cut outs). We had to push through all the shapes in under a minute and I, of course, couldn't do it. I don't know what that means, but I felt like an idiot.

That was my dream. I'm going to try everything in my power that those events don't happen. I usually have freak out dreams every time I'm nervous about something, so I don't think this is the end of my nightmares.

Jeffrey's in Tucson!

I'm home!!! And I can't believe I'm actually calling it home!

This past week I spent Thanksgiving with the family, minus Amy and Joel. But we did add Jeffrey to the mix. He took time away from his family to spend Thanksgiving with me and mine. The time spent we spent is what will always be our first Thanksgiving together. It's really one of the first holiday's we've spent together, and I was mostly thankful for the quality time we could spend with each other.

I, unfortunately, was getting over a cold, so the week was primarily filled with relaxing. We managed to fit a few fun events though. We really don't have any family traditions for Thanksgiving, but relaxing is what everyone needed anyway. We had a great Thanksgiving day meal, set up the [fake] Christmas tree, went black friday shopping and went on a good ol' Arizona hike.

Black Friday shopping was an event. Jeff had never been black friday shopping, so we decided to venture out. We decided to head over to Kohl's, with nothing in particular in mind. Bad idea! The store was nuts. We showed up a little after 12 am, and justed walked around the store. After about 15 minutes we left empty handed. This was no time for shopping, but our night didn't end there. We stopped by Target to meet up with my dad who had been doing shopping himself. We finally made it home around 2 am. I guess it was better than getting up at 4 am to shop.

But lets focus on nursing....

Concordia has been a little slow with further information, and leaving everyone on their toes. But this past friday I finally signed up for my classes! My schedule doesn't look too bad with 17 units. I have lectures on Monday, Thursday and Fridays, labs on Tuesdays, and clinicals on Wednesdays. What a week! At least I have my weekends free for whatever may come.

Even though relaxing has played a major role in my past weeks at home, relaxing is no longer an option. I'm currently in the process of ordering my books. Eleven to be exact. And reading and homework assignments to follow. Packing will also be squeezed in there somewhere. Oh boy.

Road Trip

My time in Modesto is finally over! I have been here since June and I think it's time to go home. I have loved my time here working at Lifeouch, spending time with my aunt, taking up an art class with my grandma, training for the 1/2 marathon, working on my scrapbook and just enjoying what felt like a stay-in vacation. But I really do want to go home. I miss my family and my house and my cheeto puff. I am leaving for a drive down to san diego to spend some time with caitlin, then I'll finish the drive to Arizona. It will be a long drive, but I will have the best company with me for the second part of the drive (aka Jeffrey).

Last week I turned in my packet for school. Everything is completed, ordered and ready to go! I haven't given much thought about school lately, just been focusing on my running. It's been a struggle this time to put my 100% into training. I had the time, but didn't have the energy or motivation. I wish I would have trained a little harder, but sunday is almost here and I'm just going to give it everything I have. Rumor has it   that it is going to rain on sunday (or says weather.com). That should be interesting. I've never ran 13 miles in the rain. I'm going to have to wear pants and a sweatshirt while I run so my muscles stay warm, and I don't like wearing so many layers. The less the better!

Growing Up

I can't believe I start nursing school in 4 months! It seems so grown up to be starting nursing school and getting ready to have a career. I still feel like I'm still a child and learning the ways of the world. It's kind of embarrassing to admit this, but yesterday I went to the doctor's office by myself for the first time. I went to get my physical to get everything squared away for school and everything went pretty smoothly, but I was nervous. haha.

When I walked into the doctor's office I had some weird sense of deja vu. Then, when I was walking up the stairs I realized that I was in the same building my pediatrician used to be in years ago. The carpet, the lighting, and even the smell was the same. So this experience brought me back to my childhood, reminding myself I'm not ready for school.

My arm is still a bit sore from my flu vaccination and I have to get my TB test checked tomorrow. Apparently I have to get a 2-step TB test. I thought that's that they all were. The first step -  you get the injection. The second step - you get it checked. Well I was completely wrong. A 2-step TB test is getting the test done twice. Why on earth would you need to get it done twice? I guess I should have asked the doctor, but I was just puzzled. He just said it's the new thing. I feel like getting shots for everything is the new thing. Kids don't even get the chicken pox anymore, just the vaccine. So now I'm just waiting for some results and hopefully my major paperwork will be complete.

I ordered one of my nursing books today. It's called Nursing: The Philosophy and Science of Caring by Jean Watson. They recommended to start reading this book early because it is difficult to follow. Seems like a simple title to me, but I'll find out when I get it.

So the next step will be to order my Concordia student scrubs and take my CPR class online. I'm getting excited!

Oh goodness...

As you can see, my writing has been lacking the past couple weeks. So I decided to catch up and write my little heart out about everything that has been going on lately. After 3 days of writing, I finally finished that much overdue post, but will not be posting it. It was erased accidentally when I was trying to edit. So as of right now I am currently annoyed and upset, and not in the mood to write. So here's the beyond simplified version of my life right now.

• Went down to Orange County for my nursing orientation a couple weeks ago
• Only working 2 days a week, which has left me with a numerous amount of free time
• I have been running everyday for my half marathon in November
• Not ready for summer to be over

Yes, I cried

Oh. My. Goodness. I am still in shock, but I am so excited to announce that I am a nursing student at Concordia University! After so much hard work, stressful planning and a rejection, I can  see my future ahead of me! I received an email on Thursday with the title in the subject line "Welcome to the Concordia ABSN Program." So before I even opened the email I knew the good news. I was sitting on the couch and turned my computer toward my aunt in shock saying, "I think I got into the program." Even though I knew I got in haha. She was so excited for me and gave me a hug. The email said that was accepted and should be getting a complete packet in the mail with more information (which I did that same day). I was so excited and started making my phone calls. All day I felt like I was in a dream like state. It didn't really hit me until the next morning, when I woke up crying because I was so happy. I feel so lucky to be accepted into a program, when sometimes it takes years for some people to get in. God has blessed me so much and I am so Thankful. So right now I'm ready to soak up everyday of this new adventure.

Feeling Good

I really need to update about my interview. After having anxiety for the entire week before, I am finally feeling good about this whole process. The morning of I got up at 5:30 (I definitely was not used to that) and made sure I was prepared for the day along with doing a devotion. When I got to Concordia, an ease actually came over me knowing I was in a familiar place. I can only imagine how other people felt just being in an unfamiliar place.
There were 6 groups of 6 of the prospective students, and we made rotations to 6 different interview panals. Lets hope the number 6's have nothing to do with it, haha. It did take the entire 4 hours, but went by pretty quickly. Everyone was very friendly and I walked out of there saying everything I wanted to say. So i'd say the interview went really well...in my eyes at least. Some questions they asked were
"Why do you want to be a nurse?"
"What would be your biggest challenge in the program?"
"What are some of your weaknesses and strengths?"
"How do you handle stress?"
"What are some skills you have that will carry into the program?"

I thought those were some pretty standard questions and everyone had something different to say. So it will be interesting to see what kind of nursing student they are looking for. Now I just have to wait for the final decision. I will hopefully hear the first week of August.
Until then.....

Interview

I received some news today that I was invited for an interview for Concordia's nursing program! They first told me over the phone that interviews would be held in the middle of July. So as the planner I am, I planned my summer around this interview, waiting and anticipating until I heard the news. The email stated that my interview would be on Thursday June 23. I had to read that over several times, thinking they must have got the wrong month! But no, the interview is in one week.

I am slowly getting excited about it, but I first had a slight panic attack. I am so busy this next week with Sara's wedding and work and I just freaked myself out. But I got a few days off of work and heading back down to socal on Wednesday. For my moral support, Jeff is coming down there with me to keep me calm and collect. No nervous break downs should happen, but he's there if I need him :) I don't feel mentally prepared quite yet, but hopefully with some good preparation and prayer I will feel ready. 

This goes to show that only God knows my plans and he has his arms wrapped around me as tight as can be. I plan yet another thing and he guides me in a different direction. Who knows what will happen next. I am really thankful for this opportunity that is came at the right time...God's time. 

Round 2

My application is in (again)! And I am in the running for the spring semester  of the accelerated nursing program at Concordia. The interview will be in mid July and final decisions with be in mid August.

Please send out a prayer.

Glimpse of Hope

On Tuesday, I had a phone interview with the head of the nursing department at Concordia. This meeting was set up to discuss my application and my rejection to the program this past semester. Dr. Hobus had a lot to say and really gave me some encouraging words. She really encouraged me to express all of my frustrations and concerns of the program and so thats exactly what I did!

I first asked her why I didn't get accepted into the program, when I have been encouraged for 4 years to apply early and had a "high" chance of getting in. To make a long story short, she told me the program is currently changing due to the high amount of applications this semester. There were 300 applicants this semester (100 more than they expected) for only 40 spots, when they usually only accept 30 applicants. However, it is no longer an option to apply early to the nursing program as a Concordia student because of their popular program.

I then asked why I was not notified about whether I was receiving an interview or not. She apologized for this miscommunication, and basically she said that they filled the spots but still wanted to use the Concordia applicants (There were two other girls from Concordia who applied who were just as overlooked as I was). So they put us on the side, hoping they could use us as fill-ins or something. Weird answer, but understandable I guess. So they didn't want to send out rejection letters until they were certain. She said I just got stuck in bad timing as the program in changing.

On to the good news...I can reapply for the spring semester and was guaranteed an interview in July. She said I had a strong application (I guess not strong enough) and she really wanted to see my degree complete to be fully prepared for the program. She stressed the point that she has seen many students drop out of the program and she does not want to see that from the Concordia applicants.

She also said that the other two applicants and I will be at the top of the list for next semester. Dr. Hobus seemed very encouraging and apologized for all of the miscommunication this semester. We talked for about 25 minutes and I think I got out everything I was feeling. So this week I will be re-submitting my application and be in the running for spring 2012!

Lastly, she through an unexpected question at me and changed her mood drastically. She asked me if anyone I had talked to about the nursing program has ever been rude or snubbed me. I didn't really think a lot about it and said no. Maybe she had heard rumors about some problems in their administration and wanted to know if I experienced any of it. I have had a difficult time getting ahold of people in the nursing department, but I don't think it's anyone's fault. Their program is still so new and  their trying to iron out all of the problems.

So I do have a glimpse of hope. I'm glad I will get an interview this time around so I can show them what I have to offer. But this whole process has unmotivated me to get excited. I am trying by best to stay positive, but I do not want to get let down again. I hope everything Dr. Hobus said was true, because then I think I have a fairly good chance this second time around.

GRADUATION!

Whew... I am now a college graduate with a degree in Biology! I thought this day would never come. The past weekend was so wonderful. I was surrounded by supportive family and friends, beautiful weather and plenty of activities. Graduation day went by exactly like I had hoped (besides the fact that I got sick and lost my voice.) The day before graduation I woke up with a sore throat, headache and congestion while my voice was fading fast. My energy level was so weak, but fortunately I got through the long day. Me and Jeff had the baccalaureate service, graduation then graduation party. It was a very long day, but so worth it.

It is already weird knowing I will not be back at Concordia in the fall, but I'm really excited for my next adventures (whatever they may be). Now I have to make myself hireable ;)

 

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Personality Type

I recently took a personality test for the career class I'm taking. Its main focus was to find what type of career would best fit my personality. According to Myers-Briggs personality test, I am ISTJ. In one word this personality is described as dependable.

• Slightly expressed introverted
• Distinctively expressed sensing personality
• Slightly expressed thinking personality
• Distinctively expressed judging personality

According to my results, I am the exact opposite of the ideal personality to be a nurse. ENFP is described in one word as exhilarating. I really could care less about what some test says I should be...I just thought it was interesting. Personally, I think being a dependable nurse is way more important then being an exhilarating one. But maybe thats were my slightly expressed thinking personality comes into play.

After letting my rejection sink in, my future has become more unknown and slightly scary. I have finally reached my last week of school with only two finals to go and one paper to turn it. Exciting right? Then why do I feel lost and confused. As much as I have bashed on Concordia from the countless times they have screwed me over, I am going to miss this place.  From all the moving and changes in the past, I have finally found my home.  I realized this a couple weeks ago when I took a little vacation for myself, but all I wanted to do was get back to school. Thats when I realized a true home is somewhere you want to go back to, even after taking short vacation. My home is my vacation and I love it. 

Breaking News

It's unfortunate I have to deliver bad news. I received a letter last week from Concordia stating my application has been denied. Yes, I am disappointed but I have so many supportive people in my life that have only been building me up. It's nice to hear that so many people were sure I was going to get it, but I also feel like I let them down. I have had to accept their decision, but most of all I have become angry over their decision.

The four main things Concordia said in their letter was...
1. Thank you for applying
2. Your application has been denied
3. The competition was extremely high
4. Please apply again when your degree is final

What? When my degree is final? When I read that I was confused and slightly heated. For the past four years Concordia has been telling me to apply to the nursing program with or without a degree. They were encouraging me to apply to the program with my advantage of applying early. This was so I could get ahead of the game by apply before my degree in complete. Now they're telling me it's a make it or break kind of deal? I feel lied and manipulated to. It's really hard for my to praise Concordia after all I've put in here with nothing in return. They didn't have the decency to tell me I was not invited for an interview and my application was no longer being revised. I am outraged, as well as everyone else who was sure I was going to get in

With that rant, my emotions have been all over the place. Right now I have just been looking forward to graduating and receiving my degree in 3 weeks!

Thank you to everyone for all of the love and support! I know God's plan is right on course!

Sunny day on sunday

It was such a beautiful day yesterday that I couldn't resist being outside. I have been cooped up in my dorm room, constantly working on homework. I definitely needed a break, so I spend some relaxing time taking some senior pictures! My friend Kerri did me a huge favor and took some pictures for my graduation announcement. At first, I wasn't going to do the whole picture taking or grad announcements, but as graduation gets closer and closer I just couldn't help myself. I am way to excited.

   

Plan B?

It's crunch time. The weeks are by passing by in the blink of an eye. Graduation is almost here and I still have yet to hear anything about my application. If I'm being completely honest, I've had to use every muscle in my body to stay cool, calm and collect. If there was good news headed my way...I would have heard by now (or at least thats what I have told myself in my head). But for definitely, final decisions will be made April 15th. So until that date, anything is possible.

As for a plan B, my mind has been so consumed with other things I haven't had a whole lot of time to think about it. I will continue my application process to other nursing schools in California and Arizona. When will I start those? I have no idea. I guess my next step is figuring out which schools I want to apply to. So many big decisions to make coming up, but right now I'm just trying to enjoy my last few weeks of college!

Lent

Last week the wind orchestra played for the Wednesday chapel service for Lent. I usually don't go to chapel because I overuse the excuse, "I never have time." But this time, I'm very glad I was there. Every year for Lent, I eliminate something from my daily routine (usually a food item). Whether it be gum, chocolate, cookies or cheese (which was the hardest one to give up) I feel almost there is a respect factor to be shown. This year I have chosen to eliminate eating after 8 pm. In the past couple months, I have found myself to be an habitual midnight snacker, so it was a perfect thing to give up.
The sermon for the Lent chapel service really reminded me why take my time to give something up. Even though I struggle with not being able to snack after 8, it really does remind me of the great sacrifice of Jesus Christ. If I struggle with my task, I can only imagine what a painful process He went through. I know God doesn't ask or require us to "give up" anything, because His suffering and forgiveness is free that comes from unconditional love, but I really do enjoy putting aside these 40 days and completely present them to God. So far, the task has been difficult, as it should be, but I'm still going strong!
35 days until Easter!

Waiting

This week has felt never ending. The only thing I can think about is my application. I still haven't heard from admissions about an interview and it's really making me nervous. They said interviews would be in mid march....and well, its mid march! I get asked constantly if I have heard anything about my aplication, which makes me even more nervous. The more and more people ask about it, the less and less I get excited about it because I'm afraid I'm going to have to relay bad news. I will be very disappointing if this doesn't work out, but I won't give up.

In the meantime, finishing up my senior year will be enough of an accomplishment :)

Do Not Worry

Before this week, I was doing the one thing that I didn't want to do this year. I was wishing away the days and anticipating spring break. But I can say I was not anticipating a busted tire, a broken phone, and locking my keys in my car. I have never experienced such an emotionally draining day.

For spring break my plan was to drive home to Arizona to spend a few days with the fam. But I should have known that MY plans never work out. The morning of my drive home my 2 year old phone decided to die on me. I didn't want to drive home with no phone or communication, so I borrowed my roommates old phone. However, her phone was no better than mine. Texting seemed to be the only option since the ear piece had a mind of it's own. But I still decided to continue on my trip. I left Irinve in the afternoon and was south bound on the 5. By the time I got to San Diego my car started to act a little different and made me worry. While slowing down and moving to the far right lane, my tired completely blew out. I thought I would go into panic mode, but I remained calm and pulled to the side of the road. Still with a broken phone, I got ahold of my parents and they called for a tow. The tow truck came out 30 min. later and put the spare on my car, to only find that my spare was flat. So now I had to drive to the nearest gas station to fill the tire up with air. Since I have n clue how to fill my tires up with air, my dad was walking me through the whole process. It was easy enough and I learned something new for the future! Now my spare was filled with air and I was ready to get on my way (planning on stopping at an auto shop to buy a new tire.) I went to hop back in my car to find I had now locked my keys in my cars. At this point I broke down in tears. I was stuck at a random gas station in San Diego with a broken phone, broken car, and it's getting dark by this time. My dad heard me softly through the phone and just told me everything would be ok, and it was. My parents, again, called a locksmith to come out to the gas station to get my keys. I had to wait another 30 min. for them to get there and pay another $100 to get my dang keys out of my car. By this time it's 6:00 on a sunday and every auto shop is closed. I wasn't about to drive back to school on a spare and I wasn't going to drive to Arizona. My only option was the call the one person I know who lives in San Diego, Caitlin. Because I couldn't retrieve the contacts from my phone, I had my mom get ahold of her and tell her I was going to her house. Caitlin, of course, let me stay with her with open arms and thankfully she only lived 15 min. away. I finally got to Caitlin's and I was feeling so overwhelmed with everything that had happened to me. I could not believe the day that just happened. The next morning I got a new phone and a new tire, and I headed back to school. I was still a little too shook up to be making that 7 hour long drive home.

I am now back at school and have been thinking, "What was God trying to tell me?" With so many events happening in one day, it was some sort of wake up call. He wanted me to really take a good look at my life and cast all my worries on him. Awhile ago I made a post about this bible verse:


[Philippians 4:6-7] Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.


I love this verse so much, and I try my best to live by it because I am such a worry wart. But I have not been close to presenting all my requests to God. I worry about school, money, nursing school and friends, and God was telling me that I never need to worry when I have Him. Enjoy each day and don't take anything for granted. Through this experience I have learned that money is never a source of happiness and friends are put in your life for a reason. Giving all my requests to God seems like an easy thing to do, but it is going to be a constant struggle not to worry about life. God was trying to tell me, "Do not worry about anything; you can take on anything because I am with you."

It's Finished!

After months and months of stress and anxiety, I have finally submitted my complete nursing application! I really can’t believe it! I feel like there is something else I should be working on, but I guess I just have to play the waiting game with prayers upon prayers. I think waiting is going to be the hardest thing to do, because now the situation is out of my hands. I really have done everything I could up to this point to make my application stand out and hopefully be accepted. I have been very optimistic during this whole process, but I’m also afraid I’m going to get let down. I’m not ready to hear the answer “No” to everything I have been dreaming about. The thing that scares me the most is the fact that I am the youngest applicant. ever. But that also means I have so much room to grow if I don’t get accepted.

The past week I have just been finalizing every detail I could, mostly with my statement of intent. That was the most difficult. After many avid editors and a lot of revising,  I think it expressed exactly what I wanted to get across. I have doubted myself a tad, wondering if it’s what the program is looking for, but again, that’s just me freaking out. I just want everything to be perfect.

When I turned in my last few items for my application I felt such an array of emotions . A rush of emotions came over me, and I didn’t know how to handle it. I knew I was going to be excited to have it completed, but I didn’t think I would have an uncontrollable feeling of worry and nervousness. But overall, I am just so darn happy it’s done!!!

Statement of Intent: Concordia University

I have been called into faith and ministry through the vocation of nursing, with opportunities to carry out my passion in hospitals, medical offices and care in developing countries. It is my responsibility to provide the living work of God through my gifts, talents and abilities to serve in the nursing field. The Accelerated BSN program at Concordia will help me achieve my professional vocational goal, and also my long-term goal of continued service and leadership.

With a Bachelor of Science degree in nursing, I would like to help infants or children by working in a hospital setting. My first interest in nursing spawned from the stories I was told about how I entered the world as a preterm baby. While I spent time in intensive care, my aunt who is a registered nurse helped care for me in my time of weakness. I want nothing more than to give small children the gift of life that I was given as a baby. I spent this past summer of 2010 living with my aunt and preparing for nursing school. I volunteered in the emergency department at Emanuel Hospital in Turlock, California. This eye-opening experience taught me how to keep up and excel in a fast paced environment, as well as how to work alongside a dynamic group of professional doctors, nurses and patients. While observing the ER department, I saw that the use of integrated information is crucial for that type of department. My responsibilities were to assist as needed. I tended to patients, while providing encouraging conversation and a listening ear.

I also recently assisted as a volunteer at the Children’s Hospital of Orange County (CHOC) in Orange, California. Being at CHOC reinforced my passion for helping children who are terminally ill. I enjoyed spending time doing crafts with the children, and would like to return there for possible employment in the future.

Using my nursing skills and knowledge to help others is my long-term goal. I would like to do mission work with organizations like Samaritan’s Purse or Lutheran World Relief to use nursing as a mission and witness to others. During my past 4 years at Concordia University as an undergrad student, I have strongly developed my passion for nursing and ministry while working towards a Bachelor of Arts in Biology. Not only have I gained the academic knowledge required, but have also learned the importance of problem solving, teaching others and working as a team. All of these skills link together to fully provide the proper care for a patient in need.

Nursing is a ministry that allows me to witness to God’s love by providing dependable, quality health care. To continue my study at a Christian liberal arts school would allow me to incorporate my faith in my vocation of nursing. Concordia’s academic nursing program will give me the training I need to meet my vocational goal and my goal to offer volunteer services and leadership to others. Concordia University is my first nursing school of choice. I look forward to continuing my nursing education in a small, Christian college environment that is guided by the Great Commission of Jesus Christ and the Lutheran confessions.

So Much Emotion

In these past couple days, I have felt cut off from the world. I have been so consumed with my nursing application that nothing else has seemed to matter. My schedule, stress and time revolve around this one application, when I don’t necessarily think I should let it take over my emotions. I am finding it take over my mood in any part of the day and I’m sure it’s affecting the people around me. I have tried so hard to not let it take over me, but it’s just been a huge priority to not let it eat me away. I am so happy that this application will be finished and turned in this week, even though these last few day will still boil inside me.

With many prayers over this application, I hope I can let it all go and let God do His thing. I know he is in control and I need to cast all of my worrying on Him.

2011: The Year of Today

I am super excited for 2011. There will be a lot of changes but I’m ready to take on everything that comes at me. I really want to keep my head held high because there are lot of scary things that can happen this year. Graduation, nursing school, moving away from home, but I’m ready for it all. This year my new years resolution is to live in every moment. There are so many weeks I wish would end, and I just want to love my life and every single moment in it. In the blink of an eye my college life is going to be over, and I want so badly to enjoy every second of every day…while still working hard : ) So far, I think I’ve been doing a pretty good job.

As for my nursing application, I have been trying to get as much done as I can because the deadline is coming up quickly. My checklist is getting smaller, which makes me see the light at the end of a tunnel. The last major thing I have to finish is my letter of intent. For some reason I am having such a difficult time sitting down and actually writing it. I thought this was going to be the easiest part!!! I have jotted down a few ideas and notes, but as for writing it, I am having major writers block. Everything seems so good in my head, but down on paper it sounds so redundant and lame. I really just need to focus on my real goals and passion and I believe everything will write itself out. crossing my fingers.