A Proud Moment in My Life

There are many people in this world who have a plan of what they’re going to do in life by setting goals, and trying to conquer them. I happen to be one of those people. However, life changes unexpectedly and it takes a strong person to have the courage to persevere and be resilient through it all. A wise man once said, “"Life's up and downs provide windows of opportunity to determine your values and goals. Think of using all obstacles as stepping stones to build the life you want." The last two and a half years of high school were extremely difficult for me to endure. During the end of my sophomore year, my mom was diagnosed with Inflammatory Breast Cancer. When I first heard the awful news regarding my mom, I was filled with array of emotions. I didn’t know what to say or how to act. My first instinct was that I just needed to be there for my mom every step of the way. Through chemotherapy, surgery, and radiation she was finally in remission. What I had experienced first hand in the medical field swayed my career goal from being a Pharmacist to being a Nurse. I was following my dreams and conquering my goals at the University of Rhode Island. About one month into my freshman year in the honors nursing program, I was told that my mom’s cancer metastasized. It was unbearable. My mom was alone at home fighting for her life while her three children were living their own lives. During the next month I put such an immense amount of effort into being my mom’s support and shoulder to lean on that I found myself driving back home during the week for doctor appointments, chemotherapy sessions and the occasional hospitalizations. Soon I was letting school slip by me. That’s when I decided to put school on hold for a bit and become my mother’s caretaker. The decision to “drop out” of school was one of the toughest and proudest decisions I have ever made in my life. Education was always number one on my list of goals. It’s extremely vital