"It's a long semester; you don't have to do everything at the beginning."

On my way to Carrington Hall (the school of nursing building) on Tuesday, I stopped at the Health Affairs store to buy a snack and drink; the guy who normally checks me out asked how my labor day weekend was and how school is going. I told him I was really enjoying it but that this week was going to be a clincher; I was on my way to do my first Eval (nerve racking evaluation of Clinical skills) and glucometer training. On Wednesday, we had our first clinical meeting and a calculations test we had to get a 100% on to pass. Needless to say, it was a little intimidating to be walking towards. How did he respond? "Remember, it's a long semester; you don't have to do everything at the beginning." I said "Ya know, you're right; thanks for the encouragement." Now, in actuality, I'm not sure how much sense that statement makes, but nonetheless, I really appreciated his encouragement. Life is a beautiful thing, in its entirety and its pieces. He's right, in that, I need to remember to take one day at a time and keep the big picture in mind. I look back at this week and everything fell right into place (except for that 50 on our quiz in adult care, but that was a fail for everyone). That's one reason I'm so glad Erika thought of this blog; I love looking back and seeing how everything unfolds just as God intended. Just to give a little detail, our clinical instructor seems so very nice and seems genuinely excited to be working with us. We'll be on 3rd floor Anderson of the Cardiac Unit at the UNC Hospital; we'll be exposed to many patients with Heart Failure, MI, heart transplants, etc. We're all so excited but so nervous so be thinking about us next week when we actually head to the hospital to start with our first assigned patients : ) That will be next Wednesday. Another thing that really stuck out to me this week was how much more fun I'm having being in school, solely because I'm surrounded by people that I know and feel comfortable with everyday. In my classes, I'm surrounded by people that I know and admire - it's a pretty good feeling. It's weird though; I feel myself becoming more and more independent which I'm so happy about. But ... it makes me miss my family. I miss my sister and my brothers most of all; I would miss my mom and dad, but I see them pretty frequently. Anyway, all this being said, I'm just so excited to see where my life is headed, the turns that I'll take, the destinations God will take me too, and the relationships I'll have along the way. And yes, I am this cheesy all the time. And yes, I tend to ramble. Like everything else, I choose to see that it's for a reason : ) Hope all of my friends and family are finding themselves just as blessed as I am <3