What inclined me towards nursing?

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I always wanted to do something in the medical field, but I didn’t really know if I wanted to be a physician, dentist, surgeon, respiratory therapist, or EMT. I never actually looked into nursing while growing up. I thought nurses worked 12 hours a day, 5 times a week, and had no life. I figured I might as well become a physician and be busy while having that “boss” status. I was young, clueless, and very indecisive.

I got married at 18 (that’s a different story for another day), and I shifted my focus into exploring life with my husband. I put aside pursuing my education and career for a while. I had my daughter 3 years after my marriage and was so busy being a mom that I had no time to think about anything else. But continuing higher education was always in the back of my mind.

When my daughter was 16 months, I started looking for a part-time job because I was so bored at home and wanted to finally go out there and experience life and make new friends. My first job was as a medical assistant to an audiologist. We would go to pre-K and headstart programs and check the hearing of little kids. I learned so much, but we met our objective in three weeks, and the audiologist had to let me go. I was sad because I really enjoyed working with her and it was a wonderful experience.

After that, I got a job offer a month later from a pharmacy for the pharmacy technician position. I became registered and certified through them, so I got to learn so much through the job. I became good friends with all my colleagues. I ended up staying there for almost 3 years before I quit in July 2019 (that’s another story for another day as well).

Anyways, while working at the pharmacy, I thought I will be a pharmacy technician for the rest of my life. I actually ended up being a senior tech, but I always wanted more. Unfortunately, once you become a senior, there’s no going up unless you become a pharmacist. I did consider becoming a pharmacist, but I didn’t want to be in school for 8 years, and I didn’t think I would enjoy being a pharmacist.

I enrolled in a community college for the dental hygiene program in 2018, but I had to drop out after starting my prerequisites because I found out I was pregnant with my second child and had severe morning sickness. I did not want to fail my classes because I was paying out of pocket.

Even though I felt like a failure, that was the best decision I made. I wasn’t expecting my second child because the doctors told me that there’s always a 50% chance of having a miscarriage every time I conceived. I suffered from multiple complications while being pregnant, but we made it. He was another blessing in disguise for us. 

After giving birth when I was back at work, I remember being so unhappy because I felt like I hadn’t accomplished anything- career-wise. I wanted to become something more. So, I had a life-changing conversation with one of the staff pharmacists. I asked for his opinion regarding choosing a career. That is when he explained that his sister was a nurse, and it’s the best career choice especially for a mother. He told me that nurses usually work 3 times a week and get 4 days off and that the nursing profession is flexible, and there are so many different fields to choose from.

I had no idea, and so that day when I went home, I did my research. I saw nursing in a whole different light. I started showing interest in nursing that I made up my mind to become one. That’s when I started taking my prerequisites, and finally, here I am about to begin my journey into nursing school in the fall of 2020.

So far, I have completed all my prerequisites and some of my general education requirements from a community college. I transferred to a state college, and they accepted me into their nursing program for fall 2020. I can’t wait to share my experience, so follow me on my journey! 

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Passed a 3 credit class with an A in 8 days!

                           If you put your mind to it-nothing is impossible!

This is not clickbait, as you can see from the picture. At first, it seemed intimidating because, typically, a college course is about 15 weeks. But I wanted to get some of my general education classes out of the way so I could complete my nursing degree (BSN) in less than four years. That’s the goal, and I will keep my journey updated on this blog.

As I mentioned in my previous post that I only took eight credits during the fall semester of 2019, so I could get excellent grades to get into the nursing program. Once I completed them, I decided to get most of the co-requisites as well as the general education courses out of the way before starting nursing school in the fall of 2020.

I started by checking out the winter session, and they had few classes available. I wanted to get my writing 101 done because I figured it would be doable in the eight days duration. The professor opened up the online session on moodle two days before the start of the session. That helped to give a great head start, and I started preparing beforehand. We had two 3- pages essays, 20 short essays, and one research paper (minimum 1000 words). I tried not to panic, and I had considered dropping out since I didn’t want to end up with a poor grade.

I told myself I could do it, and I took out my planner and wrote down what I would complete every day. I would drop my daughter to her pre-k at 8 am and head to the college library where I would stay till 2 pm. I would leave my baby with my mom since she was staying over for a few days (that worked to my advantage).

The entire six hours would be dedicated to completing as much writing as possible. It was time-consuming, especially researching topics and referring to books. I would write down the drafts in my notebook and, by the end of the day, start typing them in.
It took me four days to get everything compiled for my writing course, and it took me another two days to type them all in, and proofread. I ended up finishing my course in 6 days, which I am so proud of to this day. It motivates me to keep pushing, and that anything is possible.

It was easier for me to manage since I haven’t been working after having my second child. I know it would’ve been more challenging if I was working full time or even part-time, so props to all the hardworking moms out there who look after their family, work, and are also going to school. You guys are the real superheroes!


More exciting posts to come….follow me to stay updated on my journey.

How I beat my postpartum depression?

                Take one breath, one day at a time; it won’t always be this hard.

So, before giving birth, I had no idea a new mom goes through something called postpartum depression. I was so focused on buying these cute little clothes and arranging her nursery that I didn’t take a minute to look into how motherhood is really going to be.

And everyone around was so excited that nobody ever wanted to give me a glimpse of what to really expect. And social media didn’t help at all since everything is sugar-coated.

So after I brought my daughter home, I felt empty and sad. I didn’t know why. I would look at her and cry. The sleeplessness only made it worse. Everyone advised me to sleep when the baby sleeps, but that never worked because the baby would sleep at random times and for minimal hours. It would mess me up even more. I was breastfeeding, so it felt like my job was to only feed the baby. I felt stuck in the bedroom for hours. I started to think that my life was over. I thought that I am not going to have a social life and that my husband and I would never be able to bond again.

I started asking myself, what am I doing wrong? Why are new moms on my Instagram so happy? Am I a bad mom? Maybe, I don’t deserve to be a mother. There were days when I didn’t want to feed my baby. She would be crying, and so would I. My husband would step in, but nothing made me feel better. I remember him leaving the baby with his mother and taking me on a date night. I was crying while eating my burger, and my husband was so confused. I kept telling him I don’t know why, but I feel sad. I can’t help it.

Then one night, my cousin texted me, “hey, Maha! How’s it going with the baby?”. I didn’t know if I should admit how I really felt or just lie that everything was terrific. I replied by saying everything was just fine. The conversation that we had actually changed my life for the better. She actually spoke about her experience when she brought the baby home and how she exactly went through what I was going through at that moment. I remember chatting with her for an hour, and I felt so relieved knowing that it was all completely normal.

I gave birth to my daughter more than 5 years ago, and at that time, the nurses never went over the postpartum depression in detail. If they did, I wouldn’t be so miserable for the first three weeks after I had given birth. Anyways, fast forward four years later, I gave birth to my son, and I was mentally prepared for his arrival. Let me tell you, it was so much easier for me to handle my emotions because I knew what to expect. I was expecting to stay up late, going through baby blues, sleeplessness, etc. I enjoyed motherhood even though I had terrible backache from the epidural.

The first 4-6 weeks are tough because you are going through changes physically and mentally. Things get so much better eventually, and you can’t live without your little one. They start gaining weight and look so cute. They start interacting with you, and you just can’t have enough of them. Of course, there will be good days and bad days, but you make through it.

Comment below to share your experience. I would love to hear from you!