I have been conditioned. Conditioned to believe that only through education will I succeed. I understand fully that this is not true for everyone, and maybe not for even me. My parents were huge advocates of education. For this I am very grateful because they cultivated my love of learning and they have also bankrolled that process a time or two. I always have had big dreams when it comes to education. My dad worked his way up from working in the woods to becoming an anesthetist. Throughout much of my childhood he was in school or rotation or working away. He was always there for the important things however. And he sure did his best to be around as much as he could. We all knew that he was going to school for us. He finished when I was in the 6th grade. Starting in the 70's when my sister was little he went from lumberjack, to LPN, to RN, to BSN, to MSN, to CRNA. And through the entire process he always claimed he "wasn't very bright." That statement seems laughable to me, because he may be the smartest person I know in real life. He always spoke to my sister and I of the importance of education to where we grew up thinking that college wasn't a choice. It was simply the next thing you had to do after high school. My sister was ready for that challenge. I, was not.
I eased through school when I was young. Even high school seemed easy and boring. I took college classes during high school and those also did not seem hard. I had no idea how to study because, well, I never did. I had a talent for writing, but my heart was with the sciences. However, science and math were the subjects I struggled in the most. I was determined to follow in my father's footsteps with healthcare, but I wanted to be a physician.
Welllllll...... turns out.... college is MUCH harder than high school! Who knew?! My dad knew. He warned me to work harder in high school. He warned me that I would have to "buckle down" if I wanted to survive college. If by "buckle down" he meant become the Lambda Chi Beer Pong Champion of '04, then I did indeed "buckle down." The problem with being the reigning beer pong champ is, my grades weren't great. My mother always told me beer pong would affect them. And as I drunkenly chanted "C's GET DEGREES" after getting my grades that semester, I also knew C's didn't get you in to med school. Neither did that F- I got in organic chemistry before I had to retake it. Turns out, not knowing how to study, being too worried about my social life, and skipping class to go tubing, did not bode well for my academic future. I finally graduated after 6 years and multiple changes of my major. Buuuttt my degree was in biology, and utterly useless without an advanced degree (to which I could not apply with my crappy grades) or just going back to school for something else.
Well, I took my worthless degree and moved out of state to go BACK to school. This time I was going to be a teacher. I went to class, I didn't party, I did get stabbed at a biker bar (story for another time), but all in all I worked hard through my classes. I actually received good grades! Turns out I wasn't dumb, I just needed to not be awesome at beer pong (as if I could help it right?) and I needed to go to class and do the work. Crazy!!! However, when I finished my secondary education degree, and came back to Michigan, I hit all sorts of snags. Starting with the "there are no teaching jobs for anyone" snag. Along with the awful process of becoming certified from out of state. Long story short, I worked as a substitute teacher for years before I finally went back to nursing school. This time, I was going to get it right.
Here I am. I have a BSN, I work in a busy Emergency Department as a trauma nurse. I work with every type of patient imaginable. I am currently in school to be a nurse practioner. My father always told my sister and I to get our education done early, before families and kids. Well... sorry dad. I may have had my nursing career before kids, but this graduate business is happening while I am in the thick of it. Three kids under the age of 5, full time high stress job, and graduate school. Bring. It. On. If he could do it, I can do it. I want to pass on to my kids that it's never too late.
I wish I could pass on to my kids the wisdom I have gained from my previous stupidity. I may have had some great times and great stories, but because of my party days it was not easy to get into graduate school. I graduated Cum Laude from nursing school, but those old grades from my past came back to haunt me anyway. I still wish I would have been more focused. I feel like I wasted so much time. I could be done with med school and residency and working as a physician at this very moment. I respect every young physician with which I work for having the focus and drive that I did not have. It is an immense amount of work and sacrifice.
Advanced education is not the only way to succeed, in fact sometimes it leaves you with crippling debt that is almost impossible to manage. But I do believe education is important. It may be in the form of career training, or a becoming a trade professional. My dad's famous line is "they can't ever take it [education] away from you. You can still flip burger's with a master's degree, but you can't do master's work if all you did was flip burgers." (You will hear more of these dad-isms throughout my blog. He has some very useful tidbits that apply to life in general :)). However, even if a 4 year or higher degree is not in your plans, you should always be open to learning more about your career. You should always try to stay educated on up to date changes with that career so that you can move forward. You can excel at any job by utilizing training opportunities. It makes you a more valuable employee and gives you more options for the future. And if you decide you want to do something else, use any opportunity you have to get the education you need to pursue that dream. I understand that opportunity is not universal. Some have more than others. But some don't use the opportunities in front of them. I didn't use mine. My parents paid for that worthless degree that I partied away. I am still left with school debt because I did not use my time or their money effectively. I could have been debt free if I wouldn't have been an asshole.
If my kids learn anything from me I want it to be this: Education is necessary. Have fun, but go to class. And above all: USE YOUR RESOURCES! Using your resources and opportunities is the shortest route to your goal. And even if you have fucked it all up in the past, it's still possible to move forward. #goals.
I eased through school when I was young. Even high school seemed easy and boring. I took college classes during high school and those also did not seem hard. I had no idea how to study because, well, I never did. I had a talent for writing, but my heart was with the sciences. However, science and math were the subjects I struggled in the most. I was determined to follow in my father's footsteps with healthcare, but I wanted to be a physician.
Welllllll...... turns out.... college is MUCH harder than high school! Who knew?! My dad knew. He warned me to work harder in high school. He warned me that I would have to "buckle down" if I wanted to survive college. If by "buckle down" he meant become the Lambda Chi Beer Pong Champion of '04, then I did indeed "buckle down." The problem with being the reigning beer pong champ is, my grades weren't great. My mother always told me beer pong would affect them. And as I drunkenly chanted "C's GET DEGREES" after getting my grades that semester, I also knew C's didn't get you in to med school. Neither did that F- I got in organic chemistry before I had to retake it. Turns out, not knowing how to study, being too worried about my social life, and skipping class to go tubing, did not bode well for my academic future. I finally graduated after 6 years and multiple changes of my major. Buuuttt my degree was in biology, and utterly useless without an advanced degree (to which I could not apply with my crappy grades) or just going back to school for something else.
Well, I took my worthless degree and moved out of state to go BACK to school. This time I was going to be a teacher. I went to class, I didn't party, I did get stabbed at a biker bar (story for another time), but all in all I worked hard through my classes. I actually received good grades! Turns out I wasn't dumb, I just needed to not be awesome at beer pong (as if I could help it right?) and I needed to go to class and do the work. Crazy!!! However, when I finished my secondary education degree, and came back to Michigan, I hit all sorts of snags. Starting with the "there are no teaching jobs for anyone" snag. Along with the awful process of becoming certified from out of state. Long story short, I worked as a substitute teacher for years before I finally went back to nursing school. This time, I was going to get it right.
Here I am. I have a BSN, I work in a busy Emergency Department as a trauma nurse. I work with every type of patient imaginable. I am currently in school to be a nurse practioner. My father always told my sister and I to get our education done early, before families and kids. Well... sorry dad. I may have had my nursing career before kids, but this graduate business is happening while I am in the thick of it. Three kids under the age of 5, full time high stress job, and graduate school. Bring. It. On. If he could do it, I can do it. I want to pass on to my kids that it's never too late.
I wish I could pass on to my kids the wisdom I have gained from my previous stupidity. I may have had some great times and great stories, but because of my party days it was not easy to get into graduate school. I graduated Cum Laude from nursing school, but those old grades from my past came back to haunt me anyway. I still wish I would have been more focused. I feel like I wasted so much time. I could be done with med school and residency and working as a physician at this very moment. I respect every young physician with which I work for having the focus and drive that I did not have. It is an immense amount of work and sacrifice.
Advanced education is not the only way to succeed, in fact sometimes it leaves you with crippling debt that is almost impossible to manage. But I do believe education is important. It may be in the form of career training, or a becoming a trade professional. My dad's famous line is "they can't ever take it [education] away from you. You can still flip burger's with a master's degree, but you can't do master's work if all you did was flip burgers." (You will hear more of these dad-isms throughout my blog. He has some very useful tidbits that apply to life in general :)). However, even if a 4 year or higher degree is not in your plans, you should always be open to learning more about your career. You should always try to stay educated on up to date changes with that career so that you can move forward. You can excel at any job by utilizing training opportunities. It makes you a more valuable employee and gives you more options for the future. And if you decide you want to do something else, use any opportunity you have to get the education you need to pursue that dream. I understand that opportunity is not universal. Some have more than others. But some don't use the opportunities in front of them. I didn't use mine. My parents paid for that worthless degree that I partied away. I am still left with school debt because I did not use my time or their money effectively. I could have been debt free if I wouldn't have been an asshole.
If my kids learn anything from me I want it to be this: Education is necessary. Have fun, but go to class. And above all: USE YOUR RESOURCES! Using your resources and opportunities is the shortest route to your goal. And even if you have fucked it all up in the past, it's still possible to move forward. #goals.
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