One down Two to go!

Yesterday I finished my first semester of nursing school! I am elated at the thought that I am going to be an RN in less than 9 months! Seeing as I haven't posted anything in a ridiculously long time, here's the semester scoop:

This semester I took Pharmacology, Pathophysiology, Adult Health, and a Health Assessment class -- my favorite class was Pharmacology. The more I think about it, I want to become a nurse anesthetist...which requires 2 more years of school (of course!).

The most interesting part of the semester was my clinical experience. Every Thursday, I worked at a nursing home from 7am to 3pm...and let me tell you, I met some of the most interesting people in the world.

One of my favorite residents was this 96 year old woman...let's call her Pearl. She was so full of life...sometimes I wondered why she was living there in the first place! Every Thursday she was there to greet us "hi my pussy-cats!" What a character. Not only did I learn about life in the early 1900s, I learned about happiness. "We didn't have much but we made the best of it." I looked forward to her stories every week. Pearl had 3 sisters and a brother - "my brother was the KING...anything he said, we did." She told us about her favorite games growing up - kick the can & hop-scotch.

Pearl watched the world grow into a sophisticated land where kick the can and hop-scotch grew obsolete. "Kids these days have so much. They don't know how lucky they truly are. Kids today have the world at their fingertips. But with a can and a rock, I had it all. I was happy."

When Pearl was in her teens, she married the love of her life and they had a son. Pearl says that her son was the most magnificent thing God put on this Earth. And then she told us that he passed away when he was 20. She said she was blessed to have him for 20 years. She smiled.

Pearl is the shining light of the nursing home. She wheels around in her wheel chair, getting up occasionally to give someone a hug. When you see her, you can't help but smile. I learned so much from her. I will miss her stories, her cheerful greetings, and her smile. Maybe I'll go back and visit sometime!