Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Not that you'll need it

Okay. So. I've been back at school for a little over a week. Back to the grind of classes, study time, and clinicals. And it's been tough but, really, not so bad. I think that Med-Surg was supposed to be one of the hardest quarters and I survived it and now everything looks to be going at a more gentle pace. I'm sure it will still be tough, but it's kind of nice to know that I'm over halfway done with the RN portion so technically things are in the downhill trajectory, if this program were some sort of mountain, that is.

I've been thinking of the applicants for next year's class who will be coming for their interviews within the next couple of weeks. I can't believe it was a whole year ago that I spent several instances sitting across the desk from someone, enthusiastically expressing why I wanted to be a nurse practitioner and what my strengths and weaknesses were and how I thought my previous experiences had shaped me and why I was just the best of the best of the most amazing and PICK ME PICK ME DAMMIT!! Looking back, I really REALLY had no idea what I was getting myself into. I think that's true of any school program-- you can't know how it will be until you are in it-- but it just makes me grateful that even though I didn't completely understand what it would be like or how I would handle it or even what it truly meant to be a nurse, some quality in me or thing that I said shone through and let the admissiony people know that I meant business. Or something.

And I've realized that I really do like this program. It was a good choice for me and that makes me happy to know. Since I applied to several other schools, I spent a lot of time last year agonizing over which place would be the best fit. In the end, it really came down to my school and Yale. And I was really on the fence until the last possible moment I could have turned in my intent to register forms. Yale had a really great program and a lot of things I was looking for but I decided not to go there based on location, cost, and several specific characteristics about the program with which I won't bore you.... So now it's nice to look back and realize that I'm still happy with my decision and this is the right place for me. It's also kind of nice to be able to say "I'm so glad I didn't go to Yale."

So now I'm here. And I'm glad. Sooo to all you little interviewees... good luck!!!