Six-Year-Old Me Knew by Carrie

Six-Year-Old Me Knew by Carrie - June 2017 Scholarship Essay

Six-year-old me wanted to be a nurse. That changed over time due to financial constraints and my lack of knowledge. Not one of my family members had attended college and I had no idea that I could apply for and get loans, grants and scholarships to pay for college myself. I decided that I would not go to college because my parents could not afford to pay for it. I believed that was the only way that someone was able to go to college. So I decided that wherever I got a job is where I would work and that was that.
As I got older I learned my options for financial assistance but, unfortunately my options for grants were gone due to my age and my spouse’s income. This left me with only loans and scholarships. With the encouragement of a friend, we applied for loans and went “back to school” together at a community college. I did not know what I wanted for a career but thought I would work toward a business degree. I chose this because I figured it was a fairly universal degree and I would have many options. I added an emphasis in finance to my goal and quickly learned this path was not for me.
I decided to take an anatomy and physiology class because the human body is amazing to me and loved it. This one class began my course toward nursing school. I took the remaining required pre-requisite classes and applied to nursing school. Approximately one year after that anatomy and physiology class, I was accepted to Baker University School of Nursing and started the following spring. Now here I am, a non-traditional student preparing to begin my fourth and final semester of nursing school. Six-year-old me knew what I was meant to be; I only wish I had the knowledge to begin earlier in life.