feeling doubtful :/

[babyv15]

okay i'm taking my general classes and pre-reqs at a community college to become a nurse.

so far i took some reading and english classes.. and i got a 2.53 gps so far. i only took a total of 3 classes one was a grade of a, b, and c. i'm 20 and i work full time to support myself. next semester i'm taking sociology, another english class and philosophy. i just really hope i can get a least a's and b's in my classes.. and no c's i just feel like i'm not as smart at times. but i know last semester i didn't do as great as i wanted to, because i was constantly going out of town to visit a guy i was dating and i ended up putting him first instead of my studies. i was constantly doing my homework at work and it was affecting my work performance too. in the end things didn't work with him :/ it was not worth it. this semester i just want to focus on myself and my future with becoming a nurse and hold off on dating.

do any of you guys work full time? how do you manage work and school or even friends and dating?

i want to do different because last semester was pretty hard for me and i havent even started the actual nursing pre-reqs.

[RNsRWe, ASN, RN]

Working full-time while taking pre-req classes is completely doable, but you do have to prioritize your classwork before your social life. This doesn't mean you don't have one, but it DOES mean you are NOT doing your classwork after you have done everything else you can think of. It must take a priority over "hanging out" with friends or a date. It must take priority over....well.....everything else.

You'll find that once in nursing school, the coursework increases largely because of clinical rotations and higher expectations. Better to "get in the groove" NOW, believe me.

How do you do it, you ask? By deciding that your career is second to nothing else at this time. By deciding that while you have a job to pay the bills, once the workday is done you have another set of work: schoolwork. And stick with it. The end will make the means worthwhile :)

[KatStat, BSN, MSN, RN]

I feel your pain! I'm finish up my prereq's, and i've been working full-time the whole time, I have 3 kids ages 4-8, and my husband travels. Encouragement time: it is possible! If your priorities are straight, just keep putting one foot in front of the other. Don't get bogged down in how much you have to do or how hard it's going to be. Just do what you have to do right now, then move to the next thing. If you think about all the details that are around the corner, you'll never get to the corner! Just keep moving forward.