scatterpearl

I appreciate your openness on this topic, not just for the sake of understanding for other addicts who struggle, but also just for the sake of openness itself! I am only just about to begin nursing school, but have been on allnurses for about a year just out of interest and to get the lay of the land, so to speak, and this is one of the topics that only rarely gets a straight answer. It took me a long time to figure out what "diverting" actually meant. Just out of curiosity, does anyone have an opinion on using this particular word for this activity? I have had colleagues at other jobs who got caught stealing, and that's what it was always called. Is there any specific reason I'm missing? I don't really have an objection to it, per se, I'm just noting that it confused the issue for me.

I'm in my twenties and living with my parents and had been stuck like this for a long time, really wondering what the heck was going to happen to me. I realized what I wanted for myself, and that I had been letting fear rule my life, as an earlier comment put it. When your parents are supportive like ours are, it can be really hard to start taking scary steps. It's cozy here at home! I am still a pre-nursing student, working on pre-requisites and currently applying to nursing schools, and I have to tell you that just STARTING this path has completely changed me and my outlook. It is scary to think that I might not get into nursing school after the hard work and $$ I have put into it, and yet even if I don't, I know that it has absolutely not been a waste. I have learned a lot about myself just through the act of trying. I found out I was a much better student than I used to be, and that I was tougher and had more energy and stamina and patience than I used to think. I really jumped in with both feet, taking a lot of credits at my community college and doing several volunteer jobs at a local hospital to get some experience and also future references. It was scary at first, it felt like I was just handing over my free time to strangers who couldn't really promise me anything in return. But I discovered that work and school both feel MUUUUCH different when you really care about the outcome. Plus, I found that there were more outcomes than just eventually becoming a nurse with a good and respectable job. I have met some nice, interesting, and driven people who motivate me, and I just have different priorities for myself in terms of having pride in the things I do and how much of myself I put into them. It sounds like you are truly drawn to nursing. This already gives you a huge advantage! My advice to you would be to NOT WAIT FOR ANYTHING. Enroll in a community college class for Spring semester RIGHT NOW and take your first step. You can chicken out later or change your mind if you find yourself wondering the heck you were thinking. Try to re-direct your online reading to more constructive details! Maybe you can turn this "thoroughness" to your advantage? There is a lot to learn, and being detail oriented can help you, whether it's learning all the different kinds of white blood cells in Anatomy class or trying to figure out what schools have different prerequisites and what their application deadlines are. When you've been out of school for a while, it's hard to get back in the groove of keeping up with all that kind of thing. (At least it was for me) Maybe you can tell, your post really spoke to me, I recognized a lot of my own experience in it. I am seriously rooting for you, and hope you can take some positive steps forward, in any direction, honestly. PS. I also agree with the poster who advised you to change your username, it's risky whatever path you take. :-)

I'm taking Anatomy and Physiology I&II, both accelerated one after the other. (Currently about half way through I). And Lifespan Development for the full summer semester. It's intense, but going well so far!

Carolinapooh, It's because none of the three offers ALL of the courses I need to take. So, I had to scope out which schools had which classes in order to be able to take them all in the same semester. I just laid out all of the possibilities among the schools I am able to commute to and cobbled together a workable schedule.

I'm lining up my pre-reqs for the upcoming Fall semester right now and have just realized that to get all the classes I need I will have to be enrolled in 3, THREE separate community colleges. Anyone else having to jump through unexpected hoops to get all their required courses squared away in a timely fashion? Not that I'm complaining, though.

I agree. I've also seen a few posts about mean/bad teachers and how to cope, and then the discussion turns into a debate on whether the teacher was in the wrong or the poster should just get over it. How about BOTH? Toughening up doesn't have to mean you endorse what you're going through. But you'd better face the fact that only you can get yourself through it--- and there will always be more difficulties ahead. It's up to each of us to decide how to approach them.

I'm a pre-nursing student and having similar thoughts, so I hope this gets some insightful replies. In an informational session I went to I heard about a WOC program that interested me... even though I am a naturally very squeamish person. Weird. I started trying to read a bit about that field, and I found that the more I learned about it the less "gross" it seemed to me. I think it'll take a while, but I'm feeling like it's technical knowledge that will help getting past squeamishness moreso than just "getting used to it," which is what I had assumed before.