It's officially official. I will be a nursing student in eight (8!!!!) weeks.
On Saturday, Matt and I spent the day in St. Louis at St. Louis University for my nursing school orientation. I was a little nervous - what should I wear? Do I get dressed up and then everyone will know I'm an almost 30-year-old changing careers because I've obviously forgotten what tennis shoes are? Or do I wear jeans and a sweatshirt and try to blend in with the youngin's? I went for the combo - jeans, a nice shirt and my favorite brown corduroy jacket.
Business on the top, party on the bottom. It was truly the mullet of clothing choices.
Once we got to SLU and found the nursing school, I was more convinced than ever that this career change is the right decision. Everyone we met was so incredibly nice and helpful, and we got to talk with current students (who had "AO survivor" on their name badges) and faculty members. While us students were shuffled off to separate meeting rooms, Matt had to stay with the other spouses and parents for their own orientation and you-better-support-your-loved-one-cause-their-gonna-be-stressed meeting. He was thrilled about that, I'm sure.
Something one of the faculty said really hit close to home and completely nailed home the reason why I'm doing this. She said that in all of her years as a nurse, she's never once been bored with her career. She's never once thought of changing careers.
I lay awake at night and dream of a career that holds my interest. I get so bored sometimes - I need to be challenged on a daily basis in order to stay actively engaged in my career. Sitting at a desk planning parades and community events does not challenge me. Planning parades and community events, while it can be fun and has it's place in public relations, does not exactly take a rocket scientist to pull off. I love learning. I love stretching myself to my limits to see how far I can go.
I refuse to settle for the bare minimum of my brain capacity.
My momma raised me better than that.
(Speaking of brain capacity...at orientation, I received a packet of medical terminology abbreviations and drug calculations I have to learn before class begins. Talk about challenging yourself! My need for all things chocolate just rose about 100 degrees.)
It was really surprising the number of students who came in with their parents. It made me feel really, really old. Luckily, I made a couple of contacts with some fellow married classmates, and it's nice to know we'll all be in the same boat together.
The unemployed-and-relying-on-our-spouses-for-support boat. It's awesome.
SLU has such a beautiful campus. Here's a picture of the School of Nursing:
SLU Arches:
Actual Arch:
St. Louis University Hospital, as seen from a moving vehicle:
It's kinda tricky taking pictures in the city. On one hand, you want to be able to capture the artistic beauty of all of the old, gorgeous buildings.
On the other hand, you don't want to unintentionally document a drug deal going down on the corner and find yourself on the other end of a hit list.
After our venture into the city, we made our way to Washington to meet up with my cousins for dinner and to see my new digs. (Do people still use that term?) They are graciously letting me live with them while I'm in school, and it's a pretty easy drive from their house to campus. Matt was told that he is welcome to visit anytime, and of course we'll be using his Six Flags season passes as our excuse to meet halfway on sunny, warm weekends.
Come on. A girl has to have some way to relieve stress, right? Bring it, Batman Ride!
Most weekends I'll be heading back home to Licking to do things like mow the yard and wash dishes. Matt said he'd take care of all of that, but seriously. His summer baseball schedule makes my summer school schedule look like a walk in the park.
Now I'm off to talk with student loan people. My day just got super exciting.
Today I love: my Caribou Coffee mug and the highly caffeinated contents inside of it.
