LVN personal statement.

I think a personal statement needs to be compelling and come from the heart. Forget about volunteer this and experience that, they don't give a crap about that as this really doesn't tell them much about you. Passion is what they want to see, they want to get to know you personally and see what makes you tick. Sure you can weave in your experience etc but it should not be the focal point and it should not read as a resume...more like a narrative. For mine I used a personal matter that led me to leave my current job and seek a career in nursing. I have put it below for an example. Take it for what is worth, juts my 2 cents.

The Call

The phone rang during the early morning hours of October 4^th 2012. Those days, it could only mean bad news. I gathered myself and arose from a depressive slumber. On the other end of the line was a shy, timid voice that told me to hurry: my mother had taken a turn for the worse and there wasn't much time. I had imagined this phone call for a while, wondered where I would be, what I would be doing. For the last three years I had been in and out of emergency rooms, hospitals, clinics, and doctor's offices. My mother had been diagnosed with a rare form of Scleroderma and we were desperate to do what we could. Towards the end it was only a matter of helpless waiting. I had moved home during this time: this is where my transformation began. Little did I know, from the experiences that were to follow, my life would take a drastic turn. I became a caregiver, I said goodbye to a parent, and soon after, I left my job to pursue a career as a nurse.

I knew for quite sometime that I was unfulfilled in my current line of work and, to be quite honest, my present way of life. I found that the world calls out to us: singing its siren song, lures us to pursue a life of self. Ideas of success are placed conveniently before us, flashed across television screens. We grab onto them because we are told that inevitably they will lead us to happiness. As we begin this pursuit we realize, if we are lucky, that we have bought into a lie. It was not until I moved home and was placed in the position of a caregiver that I found what I was pursuing was meaningless. I was called to do much more. I wanted to help people - I always had - but I did not know what avenue to pursue. As the year went by I learned much about humility and serving. The difficulty of being around the sick is one thing, but when you are alone taking care of a parent it is crippling to say the least. I found inspiration in the many faces I met along the way. They have forever changed my life.

I do not remember any of the doctor's names from the places my mother and I visited: the people that stood out to me were the nurses. I remember watching them in moments of intense anxiety, machines beeping, orders being called out. Time seemed to slow in those moments and it was like a graceful dance. I remember thinking to myself that I could never do that. Their calm demeanor inspired me, as did their ability to truly help someone in a situation in which they were not able to help themselves. I soon realized if you needed something done, if you needed information, do not bother with the doctors instead find the nurse.

Inevitably my journey ended in the same place it had begun: in an emergency room, only this time at UT Southwestern. I raced to get there not knowing what was to come. I was not prepared for what I found, nor do I believe I could have been. I learned that day that death is tangible - it can be felt through every fiber of your being. Again, it was a nurse that guided me through this time. Although I do not remember his name, I will never forget his face. His grace during this time of my life, a time when I was defeated, was uncanny. He was not only taking care of my mother but he was carrying me as well. I was reminded of the words of a teacher from long ago, and for the first time in my life my path came into focus: Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” I realized the only thing in the world that truly matters is to help people, just like those who had helped us over the last three years. I realized that laying your life down does not have to be in physical death, but in death to oneself. You can give your life, your time, and your energy to the pursuit of beating back sickness while helping those who cannot help themselves in a time when they need you the most. That is a genuine calling, and I wish to humbly accept my call into this noble profession.