Story of Me

            I have been asked to write this reflective paper by my instructor and well here I am. It really just summarizes a glimpse into my life and where I plan to be headed. I was sure I was done with papers once I graduated college and here I am at thirty writing another one. Writing does not come easy to me and I have always been really critical of my own work. I hope I can keep you entertained and interested in my short life story.

            I was born in Blair, NE thirty years ago and was raised a few short miles from there in a small town of Missouri Valley, IA. The town had roughly 5,000 people and everyone seriously knew everyone. We went to bed and did not have to worry about whether or not we locked the doors. It was nice to have such a feeling of security growing up. Everyone looked out for each other and unfortunately everyone knew your business. My entire family either lived in the same town or within 30 miles of us.

            I can still remember all the family gatherings we would have, there did not need to be a special occasion. My aunt and uncle lived across the street and so my best friends were also my cousins. We did everything together. We would vacation together as well. It was always fun going to the local wildlife refuge and pitching a tent and fishing. This was something that was common and also inexpensive. My entire family had to work hard for every dollar but us kids did not know it. We were always having fun with our parents and did not know that money was an issue. I can remember going and doing something every weekend. I especially remember riding bikes with my cousins, this was something that we did till the sun went down. We lived near schools and parks and so our parents would allow us to go and play there as long as we checked back in from time to time.

            Memories that were not always so chipper were the ones of my many hospitalizations. I was born with a congenital defect and it would prove to be almost fatal on more than one occasion. My family was very supportive and always at my bedside. There were times that I felt as if the hospital was my home. I spent more time than any child should have to. I had multiple operations to repair the defect and then more to repair the complications that took place during the first surgeries. Looking back at this time in my life I do not remember being terrified or wondering “why me.” I had my first operation when I was eighteen months old so to me this was my life. After awhile I began to enjoy visiting the hospital and seeing all my nurses and doctors. I had grown very fond of them and would mourn and feel homesick when I went home. To me they were my second family and that was ok with my family.

            After spending all that time in the hospital I really wanted to be a nurse for many years. Many people think I would have steered away from that decision but I was very comfortable in the hospital. I figured, why not work there? I went back and forth between a nurse and an anesthesiologist. I just knew I wanted to work in the hospital and help people. I also kept in mind that I wanted to be successful and make good money.

It was probably in junior high that I decided I wanted to be a vet. I had this love for animals and the need to always help them. This idea of becoming a vet did not last very long when I discovered it was very difficult for me to cope with an animal hurting. Especially one that someone had abused, I would seriously lose sleep. So instead of being a vet I would just play one. My animals were well loved and did not lack for any attention.

In high school I developed a love for numbers. I excelled in my accounting class and I had decided that was what I wanted to pursue when I went to college. I have always enjoyed playing with numbers and have a photographic memory when it comes to them. I was in my senior year and still convinced that I was going to become an accountant when my school nurse convinced me to take her class. There was a new program and it allowed students to follow different medical and nursing staff around and shadow what they do. I was a little hesitant in signing up but thought, why not? I was in the class less than a week when I realized that all my childhood hospitalizations had been teaching me. There were so many things that I already knew. It just came easy to me. I was also able to teach the students in my class as well. It was in this class that I decided I needed to go to school to become a nurse.

Graduating nursing school was the happiest day of my life. I had done it! I had finished my nursing education and now I can become a nurse. I was very proud of myself and my family was as well.  I was nervous on the other hand because I never really had a job growing up or while in college. I worked as a dishwasher for my uncle in his restaurant but I would not consider it a real job.

The first job I could call a job was a Nurse Tech position right out of nursing school. I was a nursing assistant but with a little more responsibilities. I did not spend much time in this position because it was not what I expected. I was in my terms, a glorified aide.

Obtaining my license to practice as an RN opened many doors and all of a sudden everyone wanted me. I had phone calls and mail coming every week to try and recruit me to their hospitals or clinics. I had my eyes set on travel nursing. While reading nursing magazines I noticed there were several ads for this type of nursing. It seemed like a dream come true. They pay for your housing, flight, transportation and give you a healthy salary and even gave bonuses. The downside was they did not want new nurses they wanted ones with experience. I was determined that would be my next step and so I signed on with a hospital and decided to work in the float pool. My thinking was I could get experience in every department and make myself more marketable for the travel agencies. I did this for a year and worked at learning all I could and then I applied with my first travel agency.

Travel nursing lasted a little over five years and it was a roller coaster ride. I learned so many things and met some wonderful people. It was through my travels that I decided to move to California. I really enjoyed working at this hospital in Chico and made many friends and when I was home in Iowa all I could do was think about Chico. Moving across the United States was very scary and at the same time something I needed. I needed to branch out on my own and become an individual apart from my family.

I signed on at Enloe Medical Center as a Charge Nurse and was terrified and excited all in one. I did not realize that it was going to be a struggle to stay in one place. I had moved every three to six months and had become accustomed to it. The first two years were difficult because I was doing something I had never done before. I was looked at in a leader role and I was scared to death. In my third year of being charge I noticed that I was much more relaxed and I could handle the stress a little better. I no longer dreaded going to work and it was a nice feeling.

Now that I am feeling more confident in my role as a charge nurse I have decided to take the plunge and go back to school. This is why I am here writing this paper. It was in my class while studying adult development where I realized I had experienced Levinson’s Life Structure. In these structures our text lists three phases, “novice phase, mid-era phase and the culmination phase (cited in Boyd & Bee, 2006, p. 88-89). I entered the novice phase when I took this new position. I entered the mid-era phase when I struggled to become familiar with my new role. I then entered the culmination role when I became more confident. I can see how this could relate to many things in our lives.

My personal goal is to just be happy and content. I also hope to finish my degree and be able to manage my own nursing floor. I have been able to assist my manager but have hopes of being the boss one-day.

I believe we can all accomplish anything if we put our minds to it. I also live my life by “the learning-isn’t -just-for-kids rule” (cited in Hudson & McLean, 2006, p.37-38). I believe that we do live through learning.

Boyd, D., & Bee, H. (2006).  Adult Development (Ashford University Custom Edition).

        Boston: Pearson Education.

Hudson, F. M., & McLean, P.D. (2006). Life Launch: A Passionate Guide to the Rest of   

       Your life. (4th Ed.). Santa Barbara, CA: The Hudson Institute Press