Life Tips | Get Tougher

Ever wanted something very badly? Like...something so badly that you would do whatever it takes, no matter the amount/length of time?

That's basically me and my nurse practitioner dream.

If you've looked at the "About" tab, you'll notice that it took me a while to get into nursing. And, from there, to get into a nurse practitioner program. Through some turn of events and bad decision making, it has taken me a while to get to where I am now. A nurse practitioner student, a second-year, at that. The bad decision making, for me at least, is probably not due to the typical reasons. It had more to do with...indecision (I had many choices, and of course, couldn't prediction which would be the best)... or in the decision of which school/program and track I would pursue.

There were many obstacles, or walls, if you will, to get to where I am now, a second-year student at the brink of starting clinical rotations. Shy of a week of getting married, my husband and I were in a car accident. This was back in November of 2017, five months into my full-time, in-person nurse practitioner program. And no, I did not have a wedding planner nor was my bridal party heavily involved in the planning process with me. It was mainly me, with help from my mom with the extended relatives. Needless to say, I was exhausted and pretty much ready to get the wedding over and done with so I can go back to focusing on my studies. But now, I had an accident to deal with physically from the injuries; mentally from thinking about what to do about work and insurance (the one at fault had no car insurance and an expired license...); and emotionally from everything that has happened and possibly seeing my dream disappear from my grasp.

Along with balancing doctor appointments for all of the injuries and working, there came a lot of little bumps in the road. Two different tires went flat at different times (although both times because of a nail...). My windshield cracked and had to be replaced. These all have been an obstacle, but I am doing my best to jump through all of the hoops. And to not let anything stop me from my dream.

My 8th grade homeroom teacher once told me (well, the class):

"When life gets tough, the tough get tougher!"

And here I am, still in the works of getting tougher.

- Nicole G.

@nextwithnicole