When I was 5, I was asked what I wanted to be when I grew up. There was a list of different ideas, like firefighter, policeman, and there was doctor. I panicked and picked doctor. It’s a story I tell often because it’s the first decision that changed my life.

I clearly didn’t put much thought into the idea at the tender age of 5 (in retrospect, I was more likely 4). However, it gave me a clear answer whenever adults would ask me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I didn’t know what I wanted to do, but other people wanted to know. It was my “backup plan”. I played with ideas of a forensic scientist, after seeing many episodes of CSI one summer afternoon, a lawyer, after watching Law and Order with my dad, but I never thought about being a nurse.

I went to a magnet school for my middle school years and everyone around me was incredibly driven and the pressure was turned pretty high for some 13-year-olds who were just hitting puberty. I was still stuck on being a lawyer at this point because I liked to argue. My school district offers specialized academies for kids who know what they want and of the few that I applied to, I got into the legal studies academy, and the health sciences academy. For a number of reasons, one of which includes a phone call from my aunt in Iowa, I chose the health sciences academy and never looked back.

I came to Tech with the outlined intention that I would major in Chemistry, get into med school because not many people major in Chemistry and I would be Unique, specialize in pediatrics, and get on with my life. After my first semester, my life turned upside down.

College is hailed as the best time of your life and also the busiest. It’s the last hurrah before being launched into the real world. It’s the last time you’ll be surrounded by people of your own age for the better part of 9 months. It’s also incredibly stressful. Chemistry is notably one of the hardest sciences and everyone complains about it their first year. General Chemistry for Chemistry Majors, however, is a whole new ballgame. I had taken high school chemistry my sophomore year, a whole three years before, and hadn’t taken any other chemistry since then. I was incredibly stressed all the time, crying on phone calls home, asking for prayers for every test. High school had not taken the pressure I was under in middle school and upped the ante, rather, the stress was turned down. High school was a breeze. I never learned to study, and graduated with honors. College was the cold water wake up call that was at least a year too late. I didn’t pass my first semester of General Chemistry by 3 points, and had to retake the whole class again.

Med schools are notoriously competitive. I was also competitive, but knew when to take myself out of the race. I decided in my spring semester that med school wasn’t going to be for me and I needed to figure it out. I got the idea from someone else that pharmacy was the way to go. Still in the medical realm, and right on the path with Chemistry. Perfect. And then I read an article that discussed the pharmacy school bubble: too many graduates, not enough jobs. Great. Back to square one. After talking to my advisor, I looked at a post-baccalaureate program that would allow me to boost my GPA and take extra classes before applying to med school. This was my game plan until I realized that nursing is what I actually wanted to do.

The thing about nurses is that they’re the ones who do all the hard work. They’re the ones that have to placate patients, clean up after patients, who are there for patients when they get out of surgery, who sit with the parents, and monitor the status. The doctors make the big calls, that’s true, but the nurses are the ones that have the most patient interaction. That’s what I wanted to do.

I love people. I love making people happy, making them laugh. I love making people feel loved. My favorite moments have been when I get to see the smile on someone’s face after reading a heartfelt card or letter that I’ve read. As much as I like talking about myself, I love when someone trusts me with their problems and they come to me for help. I love getting to build relationships with people and seeing how they grow and where they go. I firmly believe that relationships are the best way to live a fulfilled life. I love caring for people, being the “mom” of the group, making sure everyone is okay. I get a rush out of being the happy, energetic, enthusiastic self that I am in lieu of the world crashing down around me. I love that. People are important to me. Nursing is the best of both worlds: the science and the people, and I can’t think of anything else I’d rather be.