In my feelings

cracklingkraken, ASN, RN · May 5, 2016

22 yrs is not old. There are plenty of people who enter nursing as an alternative career in their 30's+. You will be fine.

Zyprexa_Ho · May 5, 2016

I felt this same way when I graduated with my BA in another field before I decided to go back for nursing. Honestly, if you can get your **** figured out in your 20s, you are way ahead of the crowd. Don't be so hard on yourself. It is totally normal to feel this way, and it's even more normal to be in this position.

joseyjo · May 5, 2016

Hello all,
I'm 22 yrs old and I just got into a nursing program at a college in my area. I got accepted as a transfer student and I will be starting as a sophomore this fall. It is a BSN program, so it will take me 3 yrs to complete. However, 2016 was spouse to be my original graduation yr. But I decided to switch my major to nursing and I got put back by a couple of yrs. And I feel as if I will be so old, compared to my other classmates and I'm also a little miserable because I'm not graduating this yr .
So I'm writing this to ask for some advice on how to deal with these feelings????

LOL! This cracks me up. 22 is too old...

Shanella25 · May 5, 2016

Lol sometimes I think it is.

emtb2rn, BSN, RN, EMT-B · May 5, 2016

My latest bottle of scotch is 3 years older than the OP.

WanderingWilder, ASN · May 5, 2016

I think once you start you will be surprised at the ages of your classmates. I'm at a community college but I have yet to see a 22 year old in the program. Most are late 20s early 30s.

BBboy · May 5, 2016

Hey I was supposed to graduate in 2016 too but now it'll be 2017 (traditional age as well), sure it bums me out as well but I think of all of the experiences I've had and people I've met as a result and wouldn't trade graduating early for an earlier graduation at all.

LPNtoRNin2016OH, LPN · May 5, 2016

I was also originally due to graduate this year (hence the screen name) but had to push it off to next year for various reasons. I am a bit disappointed but it's worked out a bit better for me this way and my original goal was to be done before I turned 30, which I will be a few months shy of when I do graduate next spring.

I tell myself that I am closer now than if I would have never started for fear of too much time so that always makes me feel positive about the situation.

NurseSpeedy, ADN, LPN, RN · May 5, 2016

Okay, I am officially no longer a dinosaur, as my age must be equivalent to a fossil now. I got my LPN when I was 20. I did this because the wait list at my community college was 3 years for straight RN students, but there was no wait list for LPN to RN bridge students. So I got my LPN to make things go faster...or so I thought. I completed the prerequisites and well, life happened. OP, you are 22. You are older than maybe 3 people in my graduating class for LPN to RN. Most of us were in our 30s, 40s, even 50s when we finally went back to school. I'm 35 and just got my RN this week. I will be at least 37 before I finish my BSN and I will probably be closer to 40 because of that horrible thing called life (and no, I will not be taking another unexpected 15 year hiatus).

You are young enough to be the child of many people who are going to school to pursue a degree in nursing. Trust me, 22 is a great age to be in college. Don't be down on yourself for being a couple years older than you had planned. You will have many decades to put your degree to use when you graduate. :)

Shanella25 · May 5, 2016

Aww thanks so much for your kind words. I've been under the weather so much lately about my situation and I felt like no one would understand what I'm going through. So thank you so much :)

crazydoglady89 · May 5, 2016

3 years will FLY by. 22 is young.

I'm 26, and I remember thinking I was "getting old" when I graduated with my first degree at 21.Life has put me through a lot in my few years since then. Your life is JUST beginning. I will have my BSN at 28. I realized at 22 that I disliked my career path in finance, but I doddled since then because it was "too late" and I was "too scared". Luckily, I got married and my husband made me realize how RIDICULOUS that thinking was. Now, I am so excited to start my career!

Think of it this way. If you retire at a "normal" age, you still have over 40 years left in the workforce. 40 YEARS. Not 4. 40. This time will pass regardless, and taking a few of those years to pursue a good career is worth it.