If you could go back in time..........

i couldnt have said it better Bumblebee, now lets mentor our youths and children and hope they dont have the say the famous quote "if i could turn back the hands of time"

it is difficult to say because without all the experiences you have had, you would not be ther person you are. for myself, i would not wait for a tractor trailor to hit me and all that followed that experience. i would not have married my husband, then i would not be a statistic. i would have gone right from high school, via rotc, into the air force and gone to the university of michigan. i would have been an officer in the service. i would do trauma and not have the bad memories and tears i shed now when i look at one of my patients in our level 1.the air force would pay for me to become a critical care arnp and i would be active duty now.

the other side of that coin is, without the lessons my wreck taught me, i would not be the nurse, the researcher, the woman i am now.i have learned how precious life is. i relish in the sunshine like a person who has been in prison for years. yes, i have had alot of pain in my life, lost babies, lost memories that have not come back, nightmare relationships, and faced death more times than i care to remember, but, all of that...makes me who i am. and, god gave me choices and challenges because he/she knew that i would come through it and be an example to others. so, all in all, i have my masters, i have my bsn, i am a nurse, maybe not an arnp, but, it is never too late. :heartbeat

valkyria, you are such an inspiration to the compassionate nurse in all of us. Your story is amazing.

I am so happy that you have found a great & giving career that you love.

And you are so right- if it wasn't for what we have experienced in the past- we wouldn't be in our shoes today.

i couldnt have said it better Bumblebee, now lets mentor our youths and children and hope they dont have the say the famous quote "if i could turn back the hands of time"

I totally agree. & that is what i will instill in my daughter- that education is very important- and to research something that she will love.

God willing I will guide her to volunteer in many different type of places before entering college & perhaps there she will find something she will love & years down the line she will be proud of herself.

I would have done my CNA in high school.

Then, I would have enrolled in a 4 year university that offerend nursing and done my BSN.

Or,

I would have joined the army after hs, and after my three years of active service, joined the army nurse corps, to get my RN/BSN, and eventually CRNA.

I attended a magnet high school and I graduated from high school with my LPN degree. So, if I could go back in time, I would have strongly considered attended a community college at age 17 (pre-reqs were all complete dual enrolled with FAU) and completed the LPN-RN program in 18 months. I would have been an RN by 19.

However, my 10 years of life experiences as a social worker, teacher, and career student are priceless.

it took me a while to figure out what I wanted to be when I grew up (ok so a little longer but 28 isn't all that grown lol) I don't think I'd change a thing, I married young and we had 3 kids right away and pretty close in age, I was lucky to be able to be a SAHM untill our youngest was 2, I started the pre-req's when she was in 1st grade, now she's entering 4th (have one entering 5th and oldest into 7th *ack* a hr high kiddo)and I graduate in 1 week, it's worked out quite well