This is going to be long...but I would greatly appreciate it if a few of you would read my story and give me some advice! Thank you in advanced for all responses!!
I graduated high school in 2010 and I'm 21 now. I went to community college right out of high school and my first two years of school went really well - All A's and B's. At some points I was a part time student because I was unsure of my major, but once I decided on nursing I took some of my prerequisites and was set on trying to get into a BSN program. I did extremely well in my A&P 1 and 2 classes. I received high A's in both of them. Everything was going really well for me.
When I started my 3rd year of college things got really rough for me and my family. Right before midterm in fall of 2012, my mom declared bankruptcy and foreclosure. Her and I both had to work our butts off to be able to afford to just live. That semester went bad very quickly and I got D's and F's in all of my classes. I was embarrassed and disappointed in myself. (These were gen ed classes not prerequisites) After failing completely that semester, I retook all those classes in the spring of 2013. I got a B in one, a D in an other, and an incomplete in one other class. (An incomplete means I have a year to complete any unfinished work to pass the class and my grade will go from an "I" to most likely a "C" grade) I was at an all time low...I had never been this bad at school. I really thought that I could pull myself together and pass those classes to replace my bad grades. Thankfully, I did it with one. And the class I got an incomplete in the professor was very generous and understanding about my financial situation.
After that year of school, I really began to doubt myself. I didn't think there was any hope of me getting into nursing school. During this past summer, I began researching other career paths. I have always been great with technology and had learned how to program in high school. I decided to enroll at a small private college 15 minutes from home and declare my major in computer science. I started this semester and everything that could have gone wrong did. I have been a dedicated equestrian for over 12 years and have owned horses for over 6 years. Four days before classes started and two days before moving into my new on campus apartment, one of my horses was involved in a tragic accident that resulted in him breaking his leg and having to be put down. I had him for 6 years and I spent every moment I could at the barn with him riding and going to competitions. I was devastated. But I sucked it up, put on a brave face and started my life at a new college. I was depressed and hurting...but I was managing to do well in classes and stay busy. Literally 3 weeks after losing my horse, my other horse became extremely ill and had to be put down as well. It was shocking and devastating. I had never hurt more in my whole life. My two beloved companions were gone. I lost it after my second horse's death. It was just too much loss to handle at one time. And on top of that, my grandma had emergency surgery and my uncle had part of his leg amputated as well within days of each other. I stopped going to class and came home a few weeks ago.
To keep this long story from getting even longer...The past few weeks I've spent not in school and thinking about my life has made me realize that I need to be going to school for something that I actually love. And whenever I think about becoming a nurse, it makes me happy. I want to help improve people's lives and feel like I'm making a difference in my work. I know it will be hard, but I have no distractions now. My family's financial situation has been settled, I don't need to work my life away, and its clear to me now that I need to make nursing happen for me. The BIG question is...have I screwed up too much?? I'm not looking to go into a BSN program because I definitely know I can't get into one with my grades...But do you guys think its possible for me to get into a ADN program? Then I can just bridge into a BSN program later.
Thank you soooo much to anyone who read my long story. It means a lot! :)
