Why Nursing?

When someone asks you what your major is, they often follow up with something along the lines of, "Oh really, what made you decide on that?"  When people ask me why I chose to be a Nursing major with a minor in Business Administration I usually respond with something very vague like, "I just like how there are so many options in nursing," or I try and be witty and say, "Well, I was originally undecided so I just kind of declared something that allowed me to cover all my bases while still being undecided about what I want to do with my life."  Neither of which, really answer the question.  Then I get the, "Why would you choose to leave Baylor??," "Change your major!!," or a list of other options I could choose to allow me to stay in Waco for two more years.  So I've been thinking I should probably come up with an answer so that people don't just think I'm sticking with it because I think it's too late to back out now...

Starting from the beginning, I've always been somewhat interested in the medical field.  For a long time I was more interested in caring for animals and becoming a Veterinarian, but when I realized that meant I could potentially have to be putting animals down, I decided it wasn't for me.  Grant it being a nurse I will still have to face life or death situations probably on multiple occasions, for some reason the idea of putting an animal to sleep when they have no way of knowing what's going on just kills me.  That's when I started looking at other options; and when I say other options, I mean I think I've considered absolutely anything and everything.  I thought about being an architect for about a month in high school because I like designing things, then I realized I hated math.  I thought about doing something in athletics like being a trainer or study specifically in sports' medicine, but I didn't really feel confident that I could go somewhere with that either (not that you can't! just wasn't for me).  Pre-med was way too much schooling and I'm really not a fan of Chemistry.  I thought swimming with dolphins might be kind of cool for a while too, but I'm not super great at Biology or swimming so I decided I'm fine with just watching and petting occasionally.  I also seriously considered Physical Therapy but realized my GPA wasn't quite up to par with those grad schools either.    

So at this point it looks like I chose nursing simply because it's the only thing I felt like I could do...  That's not completely the case.  I'm still not even 100% I can do nursing school either!  I think the main
reason I've continued to come back to nursing though is that I know I will be able to see my results and feel like I'm doing something important and helping someone.  I also hope that nursing will keep me grounded.  Because I will be dealing with life and death matters I think it will allow me to remember what is really important in life.  I know the amount of options nursing offers is a huge part of my decision, but I'd like to think that the fact that I will be helping people is a huge part as well.  I also know that I will have the option to travel with nursing and I think that might be something I'm interested in trying for a little bit.  Another reason I hope/think nursing will be a good fit for me, that my mom likes to point out, is that I don't tend to freak out about things.  Ask any of my family and friends and they'll probably tell you that me showing emotion is just hard to come by in general sometimes!  Naturally though I just have a kind of laid back demeanor (for the most part at least), and I think it will be good for whenever I am faced with stressful or hectic situations in this field.  Mostly, I like that once I complete nursing school I will be able to help someone.  I like that I won't ever have to just stand and watch if something bad is happening.  I think I even like that it's a challenge for me (which I will probably sarcastically complain about via twitter for the next two years of my life).

Overall, yes, nursing is my decision for practical reasons like making a decent living, only having to complete four years of schooling, and I am for the most part, too far into it to change now... but I really do feel like it's what I'm supposed to be doing.  Whether I actually end up working in a hospital or whether I end up working more on the business side, I have no idea yet.  For all I know I may start my own organization and travel the world as a medical missionary.  Or I may get to nursing school and realize that it's not for me!  Not exactly sure what I'd do then, and my parents would probably kill me, but for right now, I'm just going with what feels right.

Leaving Baylor will never sound particularly appealing, but as I said in my previous post, I think I will be surrounded by the Baylor community in Dallas just as I have here in Waco.  Leaving people I've just begun to grow close with sounds semi-depressing now, but I know I won't be far, and I also know that people come and go in our lives, and the ones that are meant to stay, will.  And leaving a place and life I've just now finally become comfortable with, to start over again does seem rather frightening, but I think it will be good for me.

Jeremiah 29:11