So... here we all are...

My life has changed a lot since my last post. Here's a list of how:

- I didn't finish grad school. It's a complicated story. I had a lot of emotional baggage that got lost in an airport (surprise) which showed up on my doorstep to kick me in the teeth. Because of this and some less than understanding faculty, I did not finish. Probably one of the better awful things to happen to me in the long run.
- I decided to apply to nursing school. Last May when I left grad school, I decided plan B was nursing school. I was still hopeful for Kansas State to call me up and offer me a spot, but I wasn't holding my breath. On a whim, I applied to UTMB for the accelerated nursing program. I honestly wasn't expecting to be admitted, but wanted to get a feel for the process. This program stuck out because I didn't need any entrance exams or letters of rec... a little shady, but perfect for my situation at the time.
- I started my remaining pre-reqs at Blinn over summer and fall '10. After haggling with the admissions staff at UTMB, I had a finite list of classes that I still needed if I were to be admitted to nursing school. I took sociology, A&P, nutrition (which I had already taken an animal nutrition class... cake!), and Lifespan. Surprisingly, I found them to be very interesting, excluding nutrition. Also, for the first time since I graduated undergrad, I was doing well. I began to remember the feeling of being successful in school and what an A on a transcript looked like. It was amazeballs.
- I got an interview and was admitted to UTMB for Spring '11. WHAT!?!
- I moved away from College Station. I wanted to move so badly for the last year and a half that I lived in CS. I thought to myself, "Most of my friends have moved away so it won't be that hard..." Yeah, well, I lied... to myself. My last semester, my group of friends added a few extra who ended up becoming some of my best friends even still. My last night, I bawled. We had a Christmas/going-away party and it was a sobfest for all. I left and haven't really looked back. I liked the city, I loved the people, and those things didn't change when I left.
- I moved to Galveston. I was terrified and excited at the same time. It was my first time moving to a new city in almost 6 years... and I was moving to a place where I knew almost no one. I found an apartment near the seawall and hoped to just keep my head down and not get mugged. Well, I didn't get mugged (knock on wood).
- I made new friends. The day I moved into my apartment, I wanted to unpack, lay low, and figure out what the hell I was doing with my life. Apparently, I made a good first impression on the assistant manager of my apartment complex. That night, she came by with her friend and their dogs and we took the pups to the beach. Little did I know, she would become one of my good friends in Galveston. She, her family, and an array of residents have become my second family in Galveston. They make this apartment feel like home.
- I started nursing school. I went to orientation and knew no one. I sat in the back and made "friends" with two girls who ultimately ended up leaving the program due to grade issues. I met a lot of people, yet seemingly made no friends. The only person I talked to more than briefly all week was a guy I met at my interview that was from the Beaumont area. He is a very nice guy that I still talk to, but he doesn't live on the island and is married. Someone told me that study groups had already been formed and I was left without one. As I tried to join different groups, I was turned away for a variety of seemingly fake reasons. Their loss, but not good for my ego. What was this? High school? I skipped the planned happy hour (mistake) and kept to my new friends at my apartment complex (not a mistake). I survived.
- I went to a happy hour with my classmates. Apparently, that was missing puzzle piece. I drank, I opened up, I made friends. Turns out, I wasn't the social outcast I perceived that I was. I found out who I liked and who I'd rather avoid. First impressions for almost everyone still hold true today. I made a group of really good friends which still hangs out today (plus or minus a few) and a guy that I consider to be one of my best friends in Galveston.
- I got invited to a study group. (Insert audio clip of angels singing)
- School. School. School. Overwhelmed. Got the hang of it. Piece of cake. Don't need to apply myself. Holy shit. I should have applied myself.
- Started clinicals. Wore burnt orange. Awesome and ughhh... respectively.
- Pediatrics. A semester and a half later, something challenges me. I accept. This is now. I'm loving peds and I'm keeping an open mind for future careers. We will see where my clinical experience leads me. I'm at Texas Children's Hospital for this rotation. Hem/Onc... been there, not sure if its my calling, but loved working with the kids. Showed my staff nurse how to insert a Foley Catheter... see one, do one, TEACH ONE. She's been a nurse for HOW LONG? Oh ok. Still to come: transplant, CVICU, PICU, and adolescent medicine. Here. We. Go.

So that is my long and probably boring year in a nutshell. I can't promise I will update more often because that may turn out to be a lie like last time... but I can try. No one reads this anyway.

Theme of the Year: "You may not realize it when it happens, but a kick in the teeth may be the best thing in the world for you." - Walt Disney