Graduation

It was, unquestionably, the longest graduation ceremony I have ever attended. Thankfully it was mine, and I knew every single person who walked across the stage. Otherwise I'd have surely died of boredom.
A picture of the school pin. Right now my pin is sitting in a small box on my shelf, waiting for it's place upon my uniform. And I happen to know what color uniform it will be! Teal! I've secured a job working in a CCU at a local hospital. (CCU mostly handles the fresh bypass patients, but they also catch some other acute complex conditions.) I don't start until September 4th, so I've been spending the last few weeks packing my little sister off to her first year of college, giving my room a long-needed junkpurge, and studying for NCLEX.

But what to say about graduation?

The sheer length of the ceremony, the number of speakers, the pictures, the songs... all of these things gave me a real sense of closure on my undergraduate education. I thought "It's really, finally over. I did it." But it wasn't until we said the nursing pledge that I felt a real sense of pride. After we walked across the stage, we didn't return to our seats, but instead went back into the choir loft (the ceremony was at large local church building). They dimmed the lights and we passed fire from lamp to lamp. Then, when everything was glowing around us, some soft music began to play. One of our instructors led us in recitation, and as we spoke into the wavering flames I could see all of my classmates' pins and eyes shining. It was actually a little spooky, since it felt not only solemn, but sacred. I think I will always hold that moment as a very special memory. Something to comfort me in difficult hours.

There were so many parties afterward.


I was supposed to be at the Hurst Live Review today with the rest of my classmates, but because money is tight at the moment, I was waiting till the last minute to sign up. And then what happened? After weeks of open spots, it finally filled up the day I wanted to register. Dang. So now it looks like my only review option is Kaplan Online. No more live reviews are handy for months and months and months! (Did any of you do Kaplan? Online? I'd greatly appreciate your feedback on it before I buy it later this week.)

So, until I start my job I will continue studying. I will post to let you know how the NCLEX went, but I don't intend to write about my job here since it is somewhat riskier. I am uncertain whether I will keep any other nursing blog after this one... I'll have to see whether it's possible or not. (While I'll no doubt have commentary on my life as a real nurse, I fear HIPAA... and to a lesser extent, workplace politics).

I've been so thankful for the few readers who have kept up with me these last 2 years. I feel like our dialog has been fun, and you have certainly been an encouragement to me at times. I hope I was equally encouraging to you. If you are in school, hang in there. You will make it.

So, I'm through! No longer a nursing student! (Though that isn't really true, I have so much to learn for the rest of my life.) Also, my goal is to begin grad school within 5 years. No, not as a to be a CRNA (Ew!) Probably an NP.

I hope to show you a picture of my license in a few months. Until then, thank you so much for reading.