Started School

The first week (well...half of a week) of the semester is done! It felt so much longer though. I don't know how I am going to survive W-F and I barely even did that much! On top of that I have clinicals on Mondays and Tuesdays from around 6:30-15:00 - wow. I am going to be absolutely exhausted!!! (I also signed up for a hip-hop aerobics class so I will probably be dragging...haha).

It's hard to tell so far how everything will go/which classes are going to be tough/which ones I like/don't like. Once again, I am just going to try and keep an open mind going into the different areas, learning new things, and working with new and different people. Learning experiences all around! I just know that there is going to be a ton of reading and writing, but then again that is grad school isn't it? :)

We had a maternity luncheon and that was cool getting to meet people just in that area. I didn't get much time talking about OB stuff, but I'm sure there will be time to think about it later. We also had an AE mixer type thing which was interesting getting to see people from all levels of the program. I talked to one lady who is finishing her doctorate in nursing. She was telling me about being an RA (research assistant) instead of a TA and I thought that sounded pretty interesting. You would just work with a professor on their research and not have to grade papers/have office hours so that would be a pretty sweet deal (of course the money too). I've been involved in research at the undergraduate level, so I think I might check it out next semester.

I also talked to one of my friends Rhonda about travel/abroad nursing because that is something that she and I are interested in - she was telling me about American Red Cross/Doctors without Borders/nursing in embassies and other programs that do this type of thing. She shares a love for traveling like me so we are really considering doing something like that...We'll see what the future holds for me....

Fall semester...

I really can't believe that school starts tomorrow already. It's pretty crazy. This 10 day break was definitely not long enough. I have been going to school year-round for a while now: Spring 08 studying abroad, Summer 08 at MoCo, Fall 08 at UT, Winter Break 09 at MoCo, Spring 09 at UT, then started grad school this summer. It will continue like this until I am done with my program in December of 2011, so I guess I'm "getting used to it!"

This fall I am taking:

Nursing Responses to Physiological Alterations in Health - aka Patho - (lecture)

Concept Bases of Mental Health Nursing - aka Psych - (lecture and clinical)

Adult Health Nursing I - (lecture, skills and clinical)

It's going to be crazy busy that it will feel like forever, but at the same time it will fly by. I'm at least going to make time for myself and having fun too - if not then it would be way more stressful than needed. We'll see how it goes tomorrow!

Traveling

Since studying abroad, I really wanted to make an effort to travel more often when I got home. I think that I could have definitely traveled more, but I'm glad that I have had the opportunities to travel since then. I went to Laramie, WY in January 09 and toured New England (Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, Connecticut, and Rhode Island) in May 09. Some of my friends from studying abroad have also come and visit me so that has been cool.

Right now I am trying to plan 2 more trips in 2010 around the same times as 2009 because I have breaks from school. Also because my program is year around, it makes it harder to find times to schedule things. So this is what it looks like (hopefully) - Seattle/Vancouver January 2010 and Illinois/Wisconsin/Michigan in May of 2010. I hope that this works out - as of now one flight is $258 and the other is $208 so that is pretty good!!

I have also considered going abroad as a nurse - I don't know where or how - but I think it would be an amazing experience. God has led me to where I am so far and it's in His hands. I was just thinking about that since a lot of people that I know are starting medical school last/this week. I wonder if I would have been among them if I would have stayed pre-med. I'm definitely happy where I am though and I think it's the right place for me! :)

Books

Textbooks for school are SO expensive - I know that A LOT of work goes into writing it all, getting the pictures/charts, researching, updating, revising, etc - but really?!?

Anyways, I'm glad that for the fall semester I only have to buy 2 books - one for psych nursing and an IV book. Yes! Only $100. I just went and visited Kelsey who got into vet school and her friend was saying that all the textbooks they need (new) were retailed around $1100. Shoot!

Hanging out at Scholz's Garten after clinicals

Picture of Mrs. Davis's clinical group one day

Me, Kels, and Monica at their new house!

Introducing My Friends...

I thought that this would be a cool addition to my blog. I'm always interested in meeting new people and learning about their lives. Here are some of the people that I have met so far...(in no particular order)

Kristin - I remember first meeting her on the orientation day. She said, "I study alone. I'm not going to be in any study groups..." I was like...hmm this she is going to be hard to work with. The next day I see her joining a study group. haha. I think she is definitely full of surprises! :) But really, she makes me crack up at the most random times and she's definitely going to be my drinking buddy. haha.

Cindy - I think I first met her by going up to her and introducing myself. I also hung out with her at Trudy's and she was involved in Campus Crusade for Life (Stephanie's sister is a part of this now so Stephanie and I talked about this and I thought it was cool!). She was in my clinical group this summer and I got to know her better. She's a calm person who can definitely bring a smile to my face. Everytime I would say hello and talk to her, she was super sweet. She also says that I have a lot of energy and am crazy so that makes me happy because I normally feel like I don't. :)

Natalie - The first time I officially met Natalie was when we went on a group floating trip down the Comal River. I said, "I know we haven't officially met, but I know that you are Natalie." She replied, "And I know that you are Emily." haha. Good introduction, I know. But anyways we were also in the same summer clinical group. Poor Natalie had to get all my texts/calls freaking out about our nursing process report. She is such a great friend and sport for putting up with me. Her little dog named Cookie is also awesome. I can't wait to keep hanging out with her because she is a good listener, knows how to laugh and have fun, and has a great personality!

Eddie - I first met Eddie at the orientation and he was just talking up a storm. I loved it. This guy is just too much. He seriously cracks me up all the time and is one of the nicest people. He makes you feel so special and loved!! Best hugger! But really, he is the life of the party and is always smiling. I also try to speak Spanish with him...but I'm not too good. Can't wait to see you again Eddie!

Catherine - I first met her the first week that we went to Trudy's and I liked her right away. She is so laid back and nonjudgmental and I really like that about her. She is also caring and has good stories (about a guy coming into her house at night...actually scary). I haven't seen her in a while, but I know that we will reunite!! hah.

Emily - I was freaking out the first day of school (lame I know) when I didn't have a study group. The next day Emily turned around to the row where I was sitting and said, "Hey, want to make a study group and split up the objectives?" I was thinking...hell yeah. This girl is awesome. haha. Whenever I am stressing, Emily is definitely there to talk to and makes me feel better! She's one of those friends that you don't have to talk to all the time, but then you just pick right back up where you left off.

Stephanie - I met her on the very first lecture day and she was so nice. I then followed her into our classroom and sat in the seat directly next to her. She probably thought I was a creeper since there were like 50 seats open. haha. She is so kind and thoughtful and I love that about her! She can make your day and it's awesome. I also think that sometimes she has random comments that make me crack up - she says that I make her feel like she is funny - but she really is!! :) She also knows all the really cool coffee shops all around town. I can always count on her and can't wait to hang out again.

I have made more friends, but I either don't know them that well or don't have a picture of them (that just makes it more fun and puts a face to a name). If I get a picture or something, I will definitely add on to this. I will continue to meet people, get to know them more, and cherish every moment I get to spend with the wonderful people that God puts in my life.

New blog...

I was going to start this blog before I started graduate school, but it got really hectic, so I never had the chance. Long story short...

Dec 08 - applied to graduate school

Feb 09 - got accepted to graduate school

May 09 - graduated UT with my Bachelor's degree in HDFS

June 09 - started nursing/grad school

Aug 09 - finished my first semester

This leads me to where I am currently. I just completed my first semester of nursing school. It was such a mix of emotions throughout the entire summer semester. I don't really think we knew what we got ourselves into. It was exciting, new, challenging, stressful, draining, and exhilarating all at once. At one point I really was about to break down writing a 50-page nursing process report. My friend Natalie and I were so delirious writing this for hours straight. Now that I look back, it's rather hilarious and I definitely won't forget it.

Firstly, the people in my program are wonderful to say the least. The nursing school did a great job hand-picking students to join their program. I'm proud to say that I belong to this class of future nurses. Secondly, the class the summer was a whirlwind. The first part was lecture and learning a full head-to-toe assessment (we will actually go into greater detail this upcoming semester too). The second portion was skills and the last portion was clinicals.

It would take forever to describe it all since it is now over - but I plan on writing around once a week from now on so that it won't be so abbreviated. I am just glad that I survived the first semester and have a lot more to look forward to.