Dear pre-nursing,
I knew coming into college that I wanted to be a pre-nursing major. I came to this realization because I love interacting with people daily and I knew that I want to help people (I know that’s a big cliché.) I also want to be a support system for patients and their families. When I was in high school, I had a teacher who was a registered nurse. She was the absolute best person I had ever met. She was very accomplished and had multiple stories of how she had helped patients. I immediately knew that that was something I wanted to pursue, and so, I started my journey as a pre-nursing major at Virginia Commonwealth University.
Thank you for giving me anxiety, and thank you for continually testing me and making me see that I’m not good enough. This has only made me want to work harder and prove to my professors, parents, and everyone around me that I can actually do this. So what if I have to repeat anatomy? So what if I have to apply to the nursing school again? So what if I have to have a backup plan if things don’t work out? I know I want to be a nurse, and no matter what you say, I am going to get there one way or the other.
Thank you for introducing me to life-long friends and allowing me to branch out. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to volunteer doing something I loved. Thank you for giving me lasting connections with my advisor and my professors.
However, I don’t appreciate the fact that you have made me doubt myself every single day I’ve been in this major. I used to be confident in myself, and now I find myself contemplating things like “am I good enough,” or “will I get into VCU’s nursing school this time around,” or “am I doing enough to make me a good candidate?” You have made me very good at stressing out about grades, extracurriculars, shadowing, volunteering, and a plethora of other things to be stressed about
As I continue my journey with this daunting major, I want to say: you’ve made me laugh and cry, you’ve made me bring myself down while also pushing me to work harder and picking myself back up again. You’ve pushed me to be my absolute best and helped me realize that it doesn’t matter how you get to your goal; all that matters is you achieve it.
Photo credit: 1