A Nurse's Story: My inspiration for becoming a nurse

Hey all! For my first nursing class I had t write a paper and present it for my class. I chose to do it on what inspired me to become a nurse instead of finding some random story for the assignment.  Well you see I don't so well in front of big crowds and my presentation did not go well. I wasn't able to get my real story across because I was too nervous so I thought I would share it with all of you. I hope you like it. What inspires you? Do you have a career that started from an inspiration? Feel free to share with me below I would love to hear about it!

A Nurse's Story

            My story for wanting to become a nurse is probably a bit different than other nursing majors. I started out as an English major, my real passion being Creative Writing, which isn’t a major at the University of Southern Maine; it is only a minor. What does Creative Writing have to do with nursing, you might ask?

In 7^th grade, I picked up my first Lurlene McDaniel book, Six Months to Live, which was about a girl who was diagnosed with leukemia. I had heard the term "leukemia" once before, in 5^th grade, when I moved to Saco and started at Saco Middle school after the year had already started. There was one open desk that happened to belong to a boy named Garnet. I had never met him and never would. I sat at his desk, and all I knew is that he was really sick. One day, the teachers told us that he died, losing his battle with leukemia. I had no idea what leukemia really was at that point, but I knew it was bad. I didn’t know Garnet, but I still hurt along with the school at the news. I wish I had met the boy with leukemia. That boy's desk I always sat in will always be with me.

            After I read Six Months to Live and learned more about leukemia and understood what it was, I began researching a ton. I still have a huge folder filled with printed information from when I was researching. I was really interested in learning about leukemia and understanding what it is, what it does, and how to treat it. I even began writing my own story about leukemia, which started my love of Creative Writing. I continued reading the rest of the series following Six Months to Live and went on to read every book by Lurlene McDaniel ever since (she has written around 50-100+ books). I have learned about various medical conditions and other tragedies that children and teens can face. I was always learning when I read one of her books, and, while I loved writing my own stories, I was equally interested in the medical part.

            She inspired me to want to help. If I wasn’t such a wimp, I would be a donor for a bone marrow transplant by now. When I first began reading her books, I began saving money to donate to cancer research. Unfortunately, life events got in the way, and I didn’t end up getting to use the money for that, but I hope to someday be able to have enough money to donate a good amount. When stores have drives for cancer or illnesses, I always donate to them. Also, for a long time, I wanted to donate my hair to Locks of Love. I had a hair dye incident along the way, so I had to wait for the dye to grow out of my hair. About a year ago, my hair was finally long enough to donate, and I cut off my long hair and sent it to Locks of Love. I have always wanted to help in any way that I could.

            I was an English major for two years before deciding to change to nursing. I did not like being an English major. Writing essay papers and trying to figure out what it was each teacher was looking for was not my thing. I only liked the Creative Writing aspect and wanted to write my own stories. Creative Writing and English are very different. I also knew that once I graduated, I would not be able to get a job. I didn’t want to be a teacher, and I’m picky about my writing, so I knew I needed a change.

            I decided to go with my next interest and make it a career. I knew I was interested in Pediatric Oncology and always wanted to be involved. I would have even volunteered at a hospital if I didn’t have to work while being in school since I was 15. I decided nursing would be the best path for a great, rewarding career, where I could help people and, hopefully, work with children with cancer or other chronic illnesses. I can even still write on the side and will probably get some great stories when I’m a nurse. The most important thing is: I really want to help and have wanted to since I picked up Six Months to Live.

            When I tell people I want to work with pediatric oncology, their response is something like, “Wow, how are you going to do that? That would be heartbreaking.” Yes, it will be heartbreaking, but I want to make a difference in those children’s lives. I want to help them and try to make their lives better, whether their life ends up being short or long. I will have hope that everyone will go into remission and get better, but I also know that won’t always happen. I have a great deal of strength, and I want to share that with these children that are struggling and maybe losing hope. I want to make sure they hold onto hope and fight with everything they have to live, and I believe I have the heart and strength to help them.

            I may have started with the passion of reading and writing to get to the career choice of nursing, but I am just as passionate about becoming a nurse and helping people.