TELL_Part2_McNelis

__Past__ In my past I always wanted to be two things, either a teacher or a nurse and as began my college experience I realized what I wanted to do. As I began my first semester in college as an education major I started to go back and forth in my head, questioning if this was really what I wanted to do, and I came to the conclusion that being a teacher is not 100% what I want to do with my life. I decided nursing is what I want to do. As I thought about nursing and why my heart was set on that, I began to think of my family members who have been diagnosed with cancer over the years. I lost two grandparents to caner, and I have an aunt and an uncle who are survivors. I am extremely close with all of my family members, and I love helping people whether they are family or not. A memory that distinctly sticks out in my mind was when I was a little girl and grandfather who was diagnosed with lung cancer was on the route to death. My grandfather and I were extremely close and over the months leading up to his death I spent every moment with him. He did not want to be in a hospital to die so he was in his house, but he did have a nurse that came to the house everyday and tended to his needs. He always said how that nurse brightened up his day, and even on his worst days she was able to make him feel better. That time when I was younger I knew I wanted to do something to help people, just seeing how my grandfather who was so sick was able to smile just because he had someone there to help him and make him feel better was amazing to me. That time is a time I reflect on and think to myself I want to have that same impact on others as that nurse had on my grandfather.

__Present__ In my present life there are two things that made me realize being a nurse was what I wanted to do, the first thing was me working in a nursing home and the second thing was death of a family member. A month and two days ago a family member of mine was shot and killed. I was sleeping and I heard my phone ringing at quarter to four in the morning, when I answered the phone all I heard was frantic crying and the words "hurry he's been shot" I had no idea what was going on so I said "calm down what happened?" and the next response I go was "Slimmy was shot, Slimmy was shot". The next thing I did was rush up to the house where the whole street was blocked off. I parked my car down the street and walked towards the house and I asked what was going on. My family told me to go to the hospital so I did. When I got to the hospital I got out of my car and started walking towards the emergency room, as I was walking I saw two of my family members running out of the hospital yelling "he's dead, he's dead". That moment in my life was one of the scariest and most overwhelming things I have ever experienced. Although Simmys death was horrible and very sad, it was another time in my life where I knew what I wanted to do. I want to be a nurse, I want to help people like Slimmy survive, and I want to be able to have an influence on someone's life. Slimmy is one of my greatest inspirations to become a nurse and possibly save a life and make a difference.

__Fut____ure__ In my future I see myself working in a hospital and I see myself having a lot of patients but, the one thing I want to see myself achieve is making a difference in someone's life, whether it is just making them feel happy by being here for that patient or if its possibly using my skills to save someone's life. All I want to see is myself giving someone the opportunity to feel better and become better. As little as that sounds its something that I really want. The satisfaction knowing that I helped someone will be so rewarding to me.