Nursing by Vanessa

Nursing by Vanessa - November 2018 Scholarship Essay

My family always told me I would be a nurse, like my mom. To me, it seemed there
should be more reason to want to become a nurse other than my mother being one. As a kid, I
continuously wondered; do I even want to be a nurse? Why would my family so desperately
want me to pursue this career? From my perspective, this career seemed very traumatic. My
mother came home late every night, her face heavy with exhaustion. She told stories of hardship
and bitterness. I started to think it was some form of punishment. This life, perfectly planned out
for me, was a life I was not sure I wanted for myself.
After years of hard work, sacrifices, and monetary investments, my mother suddenly lost
her thriving and lucrative home health care nursing business. I remember my mom assigning no
blame, even though there was plenty to go around; she simply told my sisters and me that she
learned so much from this loss and she would do better the next time. Afterward, there were
many sad days and confusion. My mother, trying to bounce back from this loss, took a job as a
visiting nurse in New York. My family was living in Connecticut and my mother’s commute was
long and tiring.
On weekends, my sister and I accompanied my mother on her long trips around the
tri-state area. We did not see her much during the week and this was our time with her.
Navigation mishaps occurred often. There was a wrong turn here, a missed exit there. Often, we
lost track of how many tolls we passed through, and we ran out of cash. We paid with the
pennies and dimes my sisters and I found in the filthy crevices of the car seats. Looking up, I saw
the stress in mothers eyes. I continued asking myself why my family wanted this career for me.
It was only a matter of time until I had the opportunity to understand why my family
thought I would make a good nurse. I decided to do hands-on work in this field. This past
summer, I enrolled in a four-week program to become a certified nursing assistant. The course
was challenging, and I worked harder than I ever had in my life. At the end of week four, a final
was given. I was the youngest in the course and finished at the top of my class. This success gave
me a sense of confidence and reassurance that I can achieve in this career path.
The last two weeks of the course was spent in a nursing home facility working directly
with the residents. After work, my mother and I would share stories about our day and
experiences with our patients; this created a new bond between us. Many of our patients were
scared and upset. My mom and I talked about how important it was to console them and make
them feel safe. She reminded me how important it was to make people laugh.
My mom has always had a big, inviting laugh. I realized her laugh was a constant, even
through challenging days at work. My experience at the nursing home shed more light on why
my mother loves her career. She often said that her career was everything to her aside from me
and my sisters. It gave her purpose. Nursing was the light out of her darkness. I began to
understand her passion because I was developing my own. Like my mother, I plan on dedicating
my life to this extraordinary career.