I want to be a nurse because my life experiences have taught me to have compassion for people. My childhood consisted of being abandoned by my parents, abuse and poverty. My decisions also led me to be a teenage mom and married by the time I was 18. My childhood and my marriage have taught me to fight hard for something you believe in, not to ever give up. I want to carry this compassion over into nursing, to love people that are broken not only in their body, but in their spirit and emotions. I think when you have experienced hurt and pain in your own life it is easier to relate to people who are hurting and need healing.
I really want to work with babies or children when I become a nurse. I love to hold and cuddle them because I didn’t get that when I was growing up. I currently work in food service at a middle school and I see a lot of children every day. The ones that really capture my attention are the ones that have special needs or have health issues.
Right now there are two little boys that are in those situations. The first one is autistic and has trouble with loud noises. He is always in a hurry to get his food before the rest of the kids come in to get their lunch, his face tells it all. He looks like he is so afraid all the time, so when he comes in I try to talk to him in a really calm voice to make him feel better.
There’s another boy who is receiving breathing treatments. I don’t know what he has but it looks like he is getting too much medicine because he is so sick afterwards and shakes really bad. When he comes in I talk to him about what he likes to do to try and get his mind off the illness. I believe that being kind can speak volumes to someone who is in misery.
As I think about all the duties and responsibilities of a nurse a scene from the movie “Pearl Harbor” comes to mind. It shows a hospital being bombed and the nurses and doctors are covering their patients so they don’t get hit with flying glass and