NURSE'S DAY!

So today was Nurse's Day! THAT'S ME! (almost). What a good feeling.

I have two days until graduation. TWO DAYS. Whoa. I mean, I knew time would fly by fast, but holy cow.

I love how I can look back over these last 4 years and see a definite change in myself.

- I know for a fact that I can live on my own.

- I know how to manage money, pay bills, etc.

- I have become quite the little studier, and I know how to survive a strenuous college curriculum.

- I know how to surround myself with the kind of friends that I need, rather than being friends with the people who just happen to surround me.

- I know how to look for a job.

- I've learned that God knows the answers to everything, and if you just ask, He will give you the peace you need.

- I've learned to trust myself.

- I've learned how to deal with mice in an apartment at 5am.. :)

- I've learned how to deal with roommates... which unfortunately teaches you that the world isn't always as kind as the naive person assumes it to be.

- I know that the friends that are across the country are sometimes the friends that are closest to the heart.

- I've learned important time management.

- I've learned to cook :) some things, at least. Thanks Cameron!

- I know now that it's okay for friends to see you cry. And crying on a friend's shoulder is often a good way to make the tears go away.

- I am finally a little bit better with confrontation. Not by much.. the tears still pour every time, but at least I feel as though I can someone confront someone regarding my opinion, now.

- I appreciate the lazy days, because the not-so-lazy days occur way too often.

Those are just a few. If I really sat down and thought about it, I could come up with a million more I'm sure.

My next post will be after graduation, when I am OFFICIALLY an alumna of The University of Alabama!!

Last weekend in Tuscaloosa before GRADUATION!

This weekend was my last weekend in Tuscaloosa as a student. The realization of everything hit me today... HARD. I just suddenly realized that I'm leaving. Soon, when I come to Tuscaloosa, I'll have to find somewhere to stay because I won't have a place of my own there anymore. Which, under any other circumstances, wouldn't be too upsetting because I'm ready to be done and graudated. It's just sad because from now on, Chuck and I won't live in the same city anymore until we are married. And it's going to make things difficult regarding visiting him because I won't have a place of my own to stay when I'm down there.

But, on a happier note, my graduating class rented on the Bama Belle on Friday night to celebrate our graduation. We had such a blast! I loved getting to spend one last get together with the nursing crew before graduation. We went on the Bama Belle (which is a riverboat that goes down the Black Warrior River by campus) from 8-9:30pm and then everyone went out together to The Bear Trap, which is a bar on the Strip. I'm not much of a bar person, but it was fun for a little while ;)

The other day, Cameron, Kim, and I went around campus taking pictures on campus in regular clothes and in our caps and gowns. Chuck was so nice and put up with us (mostly me and my ridiculousness) and took the pictures for us. He even was nice enough to pose in some with me. Cameron was amazing and let us use her fancy, shmancy camera, too! I need a nice camera SO badly it's insane.. I will buy one SOON! Hopefully before camp so I can use it on the road trip and while up there to take pictures of the beautiful, northern landscape. So, anyway, here are some of the pictures... again, they are SOTC, but because they were taken on Cameron's good camera, they don't need much editing anyway :)

in front of the stadium.

good 'ole Paul 'Bear' Bryant.

Bryant-Denny Stadium.

Cameron, me, and Kim in front of Denny Chimes on the quad.

These two girls got me through nursing school.

Cameron and I literally became best friends basically the very first day of nursing school. She was my partner through everything and held my hand as we walked into our first patient's room ever the first day in the hospital... which turned out to be quite an interesting patient. I almost threw up in the bathroom before walking in.. I was terrified. And she's been by my side since.

Kim has been a blessing in the last few semesters of nursing school. Pharmacology was when we first became friends, and since then she has been quite a hilarious addition to my life. My weeks during my Preceptorship would have been so boring if she hadn't been there in Tuscaloosa with me to keep me sane. AND she's going to be my sound support up in Pennsylvania because she's going to be a camp nurse with me this summer! I'm so excited about spending our first nursing experience together and growing even more close :)

Me and Cameron. Gosh, I love her and am so blessed to call her my friend.

Me and Chuck in front of Denny Chimes. What a support he has been to me throughout school. I am so blessed to have the kind of outstanding guy who will simply sit with me in the library while I study because he knows it's the only time I'll get to see him :) I'm sure he's about as glad that I'm done with school as I am!

I am so lucky :)

I love this picture. Girls, we are grown up now!


Ecstatic to be an almost graduate!

This picture captures us perfectly. This is such a definition of my personality.. I'm sure I was saying something that was totally NOT funny, but I cracked myself up. Cameron knows I'm a total idiot and was telling me so, I'm sure. And Kim? Well, Kim just plays along and laughs at me despite my ridiculousness.


Alabama Alumni! (almost)

I'm so proud to have gone to such a wonderful school.

Us 3 girls.

In front of Gorgas library, where we spent many hours studying our lives away.. ;) We became quite close with the both the comfy chairs and the tables on floor 4M.. the silent floor. hah

Russell Hall. The nursing building. We are the last graduating class from Russell Hall. A new nursing building is currently being built, and it looks beautiful so far! It opens in August. I'm sad I won't get to see the new building or spend anytime in there going to class, but it's cool being the last graduating class from the old building.

This week, I plan on going around campus and taking pictures of things around the area. Of buildings, people, the quad, just things I want to remember. I do love this school. And the campus. And the wonderful people I have met along the way.

I'm still feeling confident about camp. And I'm hoping it stays that way for a long, long time.

Love you all.

I serve the Prince of PEACE

"... he must seek peace and pursue it. For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and His ears are attentive to their prayer." 1 Peter 3:11

"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." John 14:27

This week I prayed for peace. I prayed that my heart and my ever-worrisome mind would stop questioning the decision I made about camp and that I would be content in my decision. And it seems like no matter how hard I tried to make myself believe that the decision I made was right, I always thought about the "what if" or the "look what this person has", etc. Plus, I keep hearing about other graduating class members who have just signed contracts for jobs, and it was stressing me out.

Then, I went to church. And it was more of a blessing than I ever, ever, ever could have imagined.

The sermon was on Matthew 26: 6-13. It's the story about the lady who poured the expensive jar of alabaster perfume over Jesus's head while he was eating. The disciples asked, "Why this waste? This perfume could have been sold at a high price and the money given to the poor." Jesus responded by saying, "Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a beautiful thing to me. The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have me."

Chris, our college minister, explained that the lady understood the significance of giving away a year's worth of income (which was about how much the perfume cost) in order to worship Christ in the manner she saw fit. To the world (the disciples), she had wasted something that was of precious value, but to Christ, it was an act of worship.

This was what I wrote in the margins of my bible -- "waste your life in the eyes of the world to take the time to worship Christ." God calls us to live a life that may seem like a waste to society. He asks us to give up materialistic objects that the world deems as "success" in order to live a life that worships God.

During the sermon tonight, Chris said this.. "The world views success as the fast track to your career, marriage, kids, lots of money, a big house, a nice car, retirement, and so forth. Give that up. Give up a moment of your life to "waste" it in the eyes of the world."

And that is when I realized that I made the right decision about camp.

No, I won't be making a hospital salary at camp. I won't get engaged right after graduation like I had already planned. I won't necessarily have a secure job 5 months from now. But, that's okay.

I'm taking a break from my life this summer to bless some children at a summer camp. And I plan on receiving a blessing in return. The camp this summer is not a church camp. It's a non-religious camp, in fact. But that doesn't mean that I can't love the children with the kind of love that Christ shows me daily. I can bless, love, cherish, and shower those kids with everything I have in order to make them feel like they had a summer at camp with a nurse who blessed them tremendously. And it's something I want to do.

Several people may look at what I'm doing as a risk. Like I'm wasting my degree by not jumping straight into a hospital job. I even had an ICU nurse tell me it was a waste of time that wouldn't benefit my career.

Looking back, they sure did choose an odd choice of words, didn't they? A waste of a degree and a waste of time... sounds exactly like something I'd like to do.

Waste a time period of my life to receive a blessing from Christ? Yes, please.

I walked out of church with the realization that prayer works more than ever before. And that God hears his children when they pray. And He showers you with love and peace and joy when you need it.

Praise God that He is the Prince of Peace and a steadfast provider who knows exactly what His children need!

"Take control of everything.

My life, my hopes, my dreams.

All I am and all I'll be.

I surrender to my King."

"Living He loved me. Dying He saved me. Buried He carried my sins far away.

Rising He justified, freely forever, and one day He's coming. Oh Glorious day!"

Decision is Made!

Well, it's official.. non-officially, that is. I haven't signed or mailed the contract yet, but I called David at Camp Starlight and told him I accepted the position of camp nurse for the summer!

And, yes, I'm terrified/nervous/excited. All of the above + a million other emotions.

Here are the specifics:
- camp is from June 20th to August 15th.
- they pay a salary, my trip up there and back, all food is provided, lodging is free, and they will cover the cost of getting my PA license (because I'll need it since I'll be performing nursing care in the state of Pennsylvania).
- Kim and I plan on leaving several days early in order to make a road trip out of the it and stop at several sites along the way (like Washington D.C., Charleston, and maybe another spot).
- we are hoping to take a car up there.. please keep us in your prayers that this will work out. for several reasons, having a car to drive up there and have up at camp would be ideal, but we are uncertain at the moment what car will be available.

So, there it is. Camp, here I come... eeeee! I am SO nervous about being gone. I literally have sweated over this decision for weeks now. I've lost sleep, even. Friday was my last day of precepting; I had to wake up at 5:30am and didn't fall asleep until 1:30am because I was so nervous about the decision I was going to make.. and I only dozed from that point on. I kept waking up and waking up, thinking and freaking out about my decision.

There are going to be lots of things I will miss by being gone. I will miss mine and Chuck's 7th anniversary, which is July 19th. I will miss most of Chuck's triathlons that he will do this summer. It's the last summer that Robbie will be here before he leaves to join the military. I may miss wonderful job opportunities that open up before I get back. I will miss a summer at Chuck's lake house. I'll miss my family. I'll miss Chuck. I'll miss home.
BUT, going to camp will give me an opportunity to experience something that I may never get to experience ever again. I'll get nursing experience in a Pediatric setting without having to immediately jump into a hospital job straight out of school. I've never done anything this spontaneous and experimental before.. and I'm hoping it's an experience I will never forget, or regret. I'll get an entire summer in a beautiful, northern, mountain setting surrounded by children. I'll learn multitudes about childhood conditions, medications, and will become comfortable in making sound nursing decisions and talking with doctors on site. And I get to be a comforter to children who may need me when they are homesick. I'll get to be a role model to the kids. I hope the bless the children who are there by my nursing skills.. and I'm sure I'll get a blessing in return.

Check out the website. It's www.campstarlight.com

So, now that I've prayed (and hopefully, you prayed over me, too!), please pray that I am confident in my decision. Pray that I don't question my decision and that I am blessed this summer. Pray that I don't get too homesick. Pray that Chuck and I can handle being away from each other for 2 months.. we've never been away from each other for that long. Pray that all the details come together smoothly. Pray that we have safe travels. Pray that the kids are blessed by me and Kim. Pray that we are surrounded by a loving group of people and staff who treat us wonderfully throughout the summer.

Thank you. THANK YOU! I'm so scared and nervous, but I'm excited, too :)