How Did I Get Here?

    It was the Winter of 1999, when I began to journey down the path of Nursing. As a young woman approaching the end of my high school career, watching all of my friends prepare for their futures, I began to realize that I probably should do the same. So, I began the search for my future by looking at the St Francis College of Nursing in Peoria, IL. This lead to job shadowing a Nurse one evening a month on different units. What caught my eye? The passion and love those Nurses had for their career's. That was who I wanted to be when I grew up, someone who loved what they did. I knew what I wanted to do, but how I was going to do it was the next question.

   My mother had convinced me to go to the community college, instead of going away to school. Looking back I should have listened to her. Mother's are always right. I have said that more than once. Realizing that most of my friends were moving away from home to go to school, I took it upon myself to do the same. Secretly, I applied to go to Illinois State University with my father's approval. A couple months later the acceptance letter came in the mail and my decision was made. I was headed to ISU to begin my first semester in August 1999. I was accepted as a General Education major, which I later changed to Nursing. So why am I in Nursing school now you ask? The story continues.....

  After surviving my first semester at Illinois State I had finished some of the core classes, allowing me to begin taking classes within my major. Finishing the first semester with B's and C's I thought okay I am ready to take the plunge. The first pre-requisite for the nursing degree was Anatomy and Physiology. Yes just the sound of it is scary. Well needless to say it was scary and blew my hopes for the nursing program. I found out the hard way, that course is not one for people who do not like to study. After receiving a D in that course I decided maybe Nursing was not for me. I began exploring other options such as Computer Science, only to realize there was no way I was about to sit behind a computer screen the rest of my life. With the help of my roommate at the time I discovered Sociology. I was so intrigued by Sociology my first semester that it was the perfect fit. I ended up graduation with a Bachelors of Science in Sociology in December of 2003. After graduation I began to realize the job market for Sociology majors was about as broad as Sociology is itself. Now what?