Vent... Why was I so stupid?!?

Nurses General Nursing

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Why was I so stupid right after high school? If I would have just pulled my head out of my butt for 2 seconds and buckled down I wouldn't have to be going back to school at 31. Why on earth would I have switched majors because of 1 class (anatomy) and to all things communications. WHAT WAS I THINKING?:trout:

I wish I could go back in time and finishing nursing school when I didn't have kids, a husband, house payment, etc. Going to school was SO much easier then. That is what I wanted to do and I got scared when I found out that I had to have anatomy before I could get into NS. The thought of having to see "a dead person" and working on one freaked me out so much that I was stupid and decided to change my goals in life. Now all I want to do is kick myself.

Thanks for letting me vent. I have been having the worst week with going to school and dealing with my home life. Hopefully things will get easier soon.

Erin

keep your head up erin!!;)

like you i got my first degree in something other than nursing and now at 34 34 34 (did you hear the echo?:roll ) i am going back to school for my adn. you are not in this alone!!

count your blessings--you have a husband who can help hold down the financial and parental forts while you pursue your degree. and once you've got the work done, the world will be your oyster!!

strange as it may sound, i consider you lucky b/c you've already had kids. i'm childless and still a bit undecided about whether i want to have them or not. but i know that i've got to either s**t or get off the pot soon b/c of my age. and if i decide to do it now i'm faced w/ either being pregnant/new mom in nursing school or being pregnant/new mom as a newbie nurse. and both of those options seem so overwhelming to me.

but try not to beat yourself up too much about going back to school at your age. my father did it when i was a kid so i was exposed to it when i was young, we are always seeing something on the news these days about working adults going back to school to improve their earning power or change careers and of course you are surrounded by lots of working adults on this website who are in your same situation.

keep your head up and keep focused. you can do it!!!:balloons:

Good luck!

I don't know why we make the decisions we do when young - immaturity, lack of real life experience, self-centered.

My #2 son just turned 22 and is mad at himself for deciding not to go to college right after high school because he has been working in the woods driving a skidder making decent money but there is no way to grow . . . his butt is stuck on a skidder. His bro just graduated from college, alot of his friends have just graduated. But all the talk from parents and grandparents couldn't change his mind and you can't go back

I did go to college right after high school but went back at 38 to get my nursing degree.

You just never know . . . . best wishes!:flowersfo

steph

I feel you! Why didnt I stay in college after high school? I will admit, I wasnt even thinking about nursing at 18, but I was in college and just majored in partying and having a good time. I flunked out after the first semester and came back home. Started with the phone company to just "get my way back to school" and been with them ever since. That was 13 1/2 years ago. I have since purchased a home, had a son, moved up the corporate ladder, all while going to school at night getting my AS.

Now, I am on unpaid leave to attend nursing school full time. I feel so out of place in my program because it's the traditional program and there are "real true sophomores" there, like fresh out of high school around the ages of 19-21. I'm a 32 year old single mother with major financial responsibilities.

I have a 10 yr old son and I am not married. I am the only person responsible for my house payment and car payments. But you know what, I knew this time was coming so I started preparing well in advance and I'm ok financially.

If we could all turn back the hands of time, I wish.

Good luck to you, you are not in this alone!

Specializes in Neuro ICU, Gyn/Uro Surgical.

Aww....we were all stupid then...whether or not we went to college. I dropped out after 2 semesters. I was so young and you know...I appreciate it much more now, and you do/will too! Education is wasted on the youth! Look at the stats regarding non-traditional vs traditional students. Non-traditional students do better! Granted, I want my children to go to college after high school but I am thankful they get to see me doing what I am doing now. I feel like I am setting an example for them, one that they can witness firsthand. Hopefully they don't follow my current housekeeping example:uhoh21:

Hope your vent made you feel better. Reading it and reminding myself of why I am doing this now helped me feel better!

Take care and keep that chin up!

Joanna

Awe, don't feel too bad. I'm 47 & wishing I would have taken advantage of higher education when I was 18. I just tell myself, that in retrospect I had a pretty good run for quite a few years, & now that that run is over, I now have to pay a few dues & start a new one.

It'll work out for you.

matt

Now, I am on unpaid leave to attend nursing school full time.

That's a nice option. I was laid off in March 05 which is when I started prenursing, recalled in June of '06, & had to quit in Sept 06 to start nursing school. Contractually, I was entitled to a loa, but the my ex-employer is a corporation that prides themselves on being employee-unfriendly-pricks, & I think the union's attitude on the contract is that "it is a great one, just don't expect us to actually fight for any of the provisions in it."

Oh well, that is my "vent," & I just gotta keep telling myself that I'm better off not having the option to go back to that ****-hole (because the way I've felt after a couple of clinicals, I may very well have if I had the option).

Anyway, good luck to all.

matt

Specializes in ER, Teaching, HH, CM, QC, OB, LTC.

Is it Stupid or just being young???????????

Specializes in Med-Surg, Trauma, Ortho, Neuro, Cardiac.

My dad sent me to college right out of high school, paid tuition and an allowance. I quit after one year to have fun and party.

So here I am at age 47 still in school. LOL

Good luck!

Specializes in CMSRN.

There are numerous people out there who are getting their Nursing Degree later in life. My class has 50% over 30 and quite a few over 40. I am 33 and going back because I partied too much. Others are working on their second degree.

What feels right in this moment is not necessarily right for the past. There is no way of knowing things when you are young that you know when you are older. That's the way of aging.

Live in the here and now and try (key word: try) not to think of the past that is unchangeable.

Don't cry over spilled milk as they say. And don't bash yourself for the experiences that made you YOU. I took my time gettting my bachelor's degree, and didn't realize until later that I should of gotten it in nursing (or at least bio so I could get some pre-reqs out of the way).

BUT...all those experiences I had leading up to nursing school have made me who I am today, and I like who I am today. You can't look back and be angry, or dissappointed. I think that breeds unhappiness. Just look back and say I did what I knew, and when I knew better I did better (to paraphrase Maya Angelou).

Besides, we are all young. As a 90 year old recently said about my 60 year old mother, "Why, she's just a baby!"

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