My journey into Nursing by Angel

My journey into Nursing by Angel - February 2024 Scholarship Essay

I have traveled through countless worlds, universes, and roads through the pages of books; through those pages, I discovered a range of passions and interests of mine. As an elementary student, I often found myself spending my free time at the school library reading anything and everything that captured my attention.

When I was seven years old, I discovered my passion for nursing. I was bored and had finished reading most of my school's fantasy and mythology books. To expand and broaden my reading horizons, I decided to check out some of the available career books, and one of these was a book regarding the roles many healthcare professionals play. Nursing, in particular, sparked an interest in me. This was the first time I had looked at and considered healthcare as an option. I knew that some careers under the umbrella of healthcare could be costly to study, and I didn't want to be an economic burden.

However, I could not keep myself from wanting to learn more about nursing, so I started researching the processes of becoming a nurse more in-depth. As I researched more, I discovered that nursing significantly involved interacting with people and providing hope in various ways. This inspired me and paved the way for me to get more involved with my community through service groups and projects, including Crosby Scholars, which I joined in the sixth grade, and NFHS in high school. As I started to get more involved with the community through these service organizations, I soon came to realize something about myself, and that was that I not only enjoyed working with people as a team, but I also liked the warm and fuzzy feeling and satisfaction that bringing hope and cheering people up gave me, and that filled me with a sense of conviction and purpose which solidified my decision to pursue a career which brings hope and makes an active difference in the community.

As I delved deeper into this newly found sense of purpose and conviction, I promised myself to give it my all, to continue growing, and to try my best always, be it academically, spiritually, and as a person in general.

Throughout my middle school years, I went through many things: racial discrimination, anxiety, and emptiness. At first, I kept it to myself, always having a smile plastered on my face; however, when I was alone and no one was watching, I would break down in tears, letting all my emotions and thoughts run loose. I always tried my best; I always gave it my all and always tried to be there for people in their time of need, but when everything got better, they would use me, never putting my mental health and well-being into mind. I often found myself doubting whether going through all this suffering and trouble was worth it just to make people happy. As I fought an inner battle with myself, I found myself reluctant to continue. However, I always kept the saying, "Everything has a reason" in mind.

Soon after the COVID-19 pandemic hit, I lost many friends and family, and what should've broken me did not break me; instead, it fueled me. I wanted to help those going through challenging situations and scenarios just like I had been; I wanted to be there for them and give them hope. As soon as possible, I took my health science classes to have the qualifications to enter the CNA class at my school, studying hard and staying focused. Now, in my senior year of high school, I'm in the CNA class, always keeping my reasons to keep going in the back of my mind as I work towards entering the healthcare field as a CNA and, afterward, a nurse. I wish I could tell seven-year-old me about all the journeys we been through and that there are still many to come.