captain_serenity

Hahahaha thanks? I have to earn it first :)

I have not even leaned towards any specific nursing speciality as of quite yet. I am drawn to diabetes/wound care or possibly just being an on-site nurse at a oil refinery. The possibilities are endless as to which direction to go. As of now I am focusing on getting the GPA to afford the opportunity to get into a nursing program. I am going to earn this brick by brick one step at a time. Any obstacle I endure will be handled with the utmost respect that is solution based.

Hello everyone, I can't believe I've had an account on allnurses.com since 2012 or 2013, and here we are in 2026. Back in 2013, I passed the entrance exam for LVN school at Carrington College. At the time, I was deep in alcoholism, not medically compliant, and completely lost in the darkness of myself. Somehow, despite all of that, I still passed that entrance exam. It was one of the proudest moments of my life. Unfortunately, that dream got ripped away from me after I incurred a felony assault charge on a police officer during a manic episode in 2013. Eventually, from 2013 to 2019, the charge was reduced from a felony to a misdemeanor and ultimately expunged. After that, I tried to go back through the VA since I am a veteran and wanted to pursue nursing again through a fast-track LVN program. Unfortunately, I had surpassed the timeline allowed for the accelerated program, so I was told I could still attend school, just through the traditional route instead. At that time, my son was young, and I was navigating single motherhood completely on my own with little to no support. I was also in a toxic, back-and-forth relationship with my ex-husband, who told me that if I pursued college, he would make my life a living hell through frivolous court cases and custody battles just to make me fail. So for a long time, I stayed away from school. Today, I'm happy to report that my son graduates high school this year in 2026, and I finally went back to college in 2025. Since returning, I've earned straight A's. I've completed Nutrition, Public Speaking, U.S. History, English 1, English 2, and Music as an elective, and my GPA is looking pretty damn good. Most importantly, I have been sober since February 13, 2021. That gives me over five years sober today. I no longer live in the chaos of alcohol and drugs. The only medications I take are prescribed for my bipolar disorder, and I am finally medically compliant. Do I still struggle with self-doubt sometimes? Absolutely. Years of being told, "You're bipolar, you'll never amount to anything,” leaves scars. But here I am anyway — kicking *** in school. So I just wanted to tell anyone out there who feels behind in life: please don't give up. If you have the dream, the passion, the grind, and the determination, keep going. I'm 45 years old, and by the time I earn my BSN, I may be 49 or 50. But I do not care. This dream is still alive inside of me, and I'm going to earn it brick by brick, course by course, one day at a time. Thank you for reading.

Hi everyone. This Thursday is do or die. I take the KTP entrance exam for Kaplan College. I took it twice three years ago but did not make the cut. I also passed the entrance exam for Carrington College in 2013, but if you have read the threads, you will see that I never went. I am really nervous about this test, I have been tutoring in math since it is not my strongest subject. Anyway,I can only take the test twice in a 12-month cycle so I am praying that I make it. I am tired of using the VA and want to make my own money as well as something of myself to be proud of. Please send me good vibes, love and light!! Thanks for reading.....

Hello everyone, update its been about 2 years since I've gotten arrested with the felony charge on resisting arrest by force while manic I've been stable for 2 years now my charge got dropped to a misdemeanor and now I am able to start the nursing program I have to pass the entrance exam first and then go through a background check. I know my issues are going to come up so I'm going to have to go before the Board of Nursing and tell them about my situation. Today I go to Kaplan College to the information session to find out about the curriculum, how much school costs and what not. I have the Veterans Affairs in my corner to help me pay for school, I just need to pass the entrance exam. I know I will pass the exam it's just a matter of the BON letting me in. Thanks.

Hello el gato, (cheetahj) I was a CNA at the time of my manic phase and was asked to leave my place of employment from the DON as she noticed how erratic my behavior was and to not come back until I have a doctors note. I did get arrested later on that evening in 2013 and my convictions were driving under the influence of controlled substance and for resisiting arrest by force. I was completely sober at the time of the incident so I dont know where they got that charge from other than psych meds being in my system. However I did while wildly manic assaulted a female police officer. I only have one felony charge and in a few months, I willl have it dropped to a misdemeanor as long as I dont have any hiccups along the way with probation, VA treatment doctors and such. I understand that with my condition it is a possibility that in can bite me in the orifice, especially having a criminal history with assault, but it will not discourage me. Alll I can do is try. After speaking with my attorney, he said that give it a couple years with no incidents and to keep on with my medication. Just FYI I did not spiral out of control on purpose, my VA doc presecribed me some new medicine and it messed things up, I should have known but I was so far gone I didnt know what to do. So now, all I can do is pray and hope for the best. If it's people I cant take care of then it will be animals next lol. I have a lot to overcome and have the support of my family and friends. I just know for sure I dont want to be a CNA for the rest of my life. Oh! And to answer your question, no I am not a CNA anymore as mentioned in the first sentence of my response to you and I know very well to report to the board of any convictions :)

Hello everyone, It has been quite sometime that I have been on here, my last post was right after I passed the entrance exam for nursing school. I did not go. A series of unfortunate events occurred after I passed the exam. I am going to be real with all of you. I never disclosed why I was discharged from the military back in 2001. I have Bipolar I disorder and that is why I was let go. Fast forward to 2013 summertime, I have always been in close contact with my VA treatment doctors. I told my doctor that the only problem I had with my medication was how it was hard to lose weight and easy to gain it. For the past 10 years I have been on Depakote and Abilify. Well, doc changed that cos of my complaints of my weight to Topamax which was a stimulant and resulted in me going off the deep end in a matter of weeks. When my manic phase peaked I ended up assaulting a female police officer and resisted arrest by force. Ironically, I was military police in the Air Force back in the day...weird. So the big problem is, now I have a felony charge on my record. Currently I am in veterans court and as long as I follow orders/dont violate probation I will hopefully get it dropped to a misdemeanor. I am really worried though. Can I still go into nursing school with a misdemeanor charge? I dont want to go through the process of getting my CNA again,it expires next year, but I cant handle residents due to my charge so I have to let it expire and retake the course...grrr only to find out that I shouldn't waste my time if I cant get into nursing school. I hate that I had to put my career on hold, but what happened, happened and there's nothing I can do about it. All I can do is pray for the best. I still want to be a LVN though, what happened to me was not a result of me NOT taking my meds, it was because my medication got switched for a selfish reason and my body didnt like the medicine. I feel so bad for what happened. I am trying not to let it bother me but it still does....

I am afraid to post one cos of my diagnosis. I am reallly embarrassed about it. I fear that they will make judgments about me and leave nasty comments.

Hello everyone, It has been quite sometime that I have been on here, my last post was right after I passed the entrance exam for nursing school. I did not go. A series of unfortunate events occurred after I passed the exam. I am going to be real with all of you. I never disclosed why I was discharged from the military back in 2001. I have Bipolar I disorder and that is why I was let go. Fast forward to 2013 summertime, I have always been in close contact with my VA treatment doctors. I told my doctor that the only problem I had with my medication was how it was hard to lose weight and easy to gain it. For the past 10 years I have been on Depakote and Abilify. Well, doc changed that cos of my complaints of my weight to Topamax which was a stimulant and resulted in me going off the deep end in a matter of weeks. When my manic phase peaked I ended up assaulting a female police officer and resisted arrest by force. Ironically, I was military police in the Air Force back in the day...weird. So the big problem is, now I have a felony charge on my record. Currently I am in veterans court and as long as I follow orders/dont violate probation I will hopefully get it dropped to a misdemeanor. I am really worried though. Can I still go into nursing school with a misdemeanor charge? I dont want to go through the process of getting my CNA again,it expires next year, but I cant handle residents due to my charge so I have to let it expire and retake the course...grrr only to find out that I shouldn't waste my time if I cant get into nursing school. I hate that I had to put my career on hold, but what happened, happened and there's nothing I can do about it. All I can do is pray for the best. I still want to be a LVN though, what happened to me was not a result of me NOT taking my meds, it was because my medication got switched for a selfish reason and my body didnt like the medicine. I feel so bad for what happened. I am trying not to let it bother me but it still does....

Hello everyone. It has been quite some time that I have been on here. I have some good news though. I am officially enrolled into Carrington College for the LVN program! I start October 28th and it will be for 12 months. I am very excited and I also just recently got into a recovery program and have been 6 days sober. I know it is detrimental to my condition to drink, so yep, I'm off to bigger and better things and leaning on to God as I understand Him for wisdom, strength and courage and hope. I finally get it. I start my step one tomorrow. Thanks.

Congratulations!! That is so awesome!! I am leaning onto the Lord for strength and tenacity to get through my nursing program. I need all the prayers I can get. So happy for you! God is good!!

It's not hard at all. It's mostly common sense. You learn how to do basic skills such as handwashing, taking vital signs and assisting residents with daily living.It's pretty easy once you get the hang of how things go. Just go in there ready to learn and dont be afraid to ask questions. That's what the instructor is there for. You will be fine.Good luck and welcome to the wonderful world of CNA work,lol.

I'm #38...I find out Monday. Hopefully I get in. If not it's October for me. Thanks.

keep your eye on the prize

Do it!!

Use the chain of command and get that old timer what she deserves. You were in the right. Peace.

Well, an update on me y'all...At school there are only 30 seats available. There are 35+ people on the waiting list, myself included. Hopefully I get in. If not, I have to wait til October and I have a guaranteed spot. I really want to start in July. Not trying to be mean, but I hope that they people who are in have problems with funding, drop out, etc. I dont want to push this back til the fall. Im tired of working as a CNA, lol. Since I am a veteran, I get the schooling paid for by the VA. I have no problems when it comes to the money part since it's there. I have the scores to get in and I just want to start already!! School costs 47k and I am so thankful and grateful for the VA. I also found out then when I complete the program, that I have a guaranteed job as a CNA instructor at the vocational school I went to where I got my CNA certification in the first place. The program director said that I need to complete a class in director of staff development and then I will be an instructor. So either VA hospital or an instructor!! I am very pleased with this news. I also talked to the RN who trained me, her name is Sheila and I told her about my, ahem, condition and she told me this..."Congratulations Lisa, I am so proud of you. Believe in yourself and you can and will accomplish your goals. Keep me informed on how you are doing." I am happy that I got so many people that believe in me. This makes me want it even more. Thank you Viva and everyone else for your kind words and encouragement. It fuels me to be the best that I can be. I find out next week if I got a seat. I'll keep you posted. Again, thank you.

I just wanted to ask if there are any hispanic nurses out there? I myself am half hispanic, the rest is Irish and Portuguese. I am probably the whitest latina you know, I dont speak Spanish..only a few phrases. I wanted to know how you ladies/gents got treated by your peers and nursing staff? I must say I had a hard time in my first few months as a CNA..there were a lot of punjabis and a handful of african-americans and the rest white. I felt as if I was treated unfairly whenever I asked for help because I was latino. But you know what, I didnt let it get to me. I worked hard and now I am enrolling in LVN school. I dont see too many latino nurses, so any opinions would be cool..as long as they are not racist. Do you feel because of being latino that people judge us? Like we're not smart enough or speak bad English or have a attitude? I dont know, I am just curious. I want to see more hispanic nurses. It makes me feel good when I see fellow latinos succeed in the health care field. Thanks for reading.

Thank you BeOne, I appreciate your sincerity. I have to keep telling myself to stay positive too. It's a daily struggle with me when negativity likes to nag at me. I just have to keep telling myself that I can do this and to grab this bull by the horns.

Thank you so much. This means a lot to me. I am so excited to start that I go to bed late, dream about school and get up early!! I hope Viva talks to me. She was the one to inspire me at first. I appreciate your faith in me.Thank you so much for replying.

I wish to work in a VA hospital. I want to take care of my fellow military vets. I used to be in the Air Force and I got nothing but love for my peeps.

I been a CNA on and off since 2004. I have one child and I am not getting any younger. Hopefully I start LVN school July 1st. I heard that they are at capacity though so I might have to wait until October. I passed my entrance exam, now I just need to start. I wanted to be a nurse because I enjoy helping people, it makes me feel good to know that I can make a positive difference in someones life. My ultimate goal is to work at a VA hospital so I can help my fellow veterans. I used to be in the Air Force as Security Forces (equivalent to military police) and I just dont see myself being a police officer not to mention the danger in it all. So nursing is what I decided to do. I cant wait to start school and achieve my goals!!

I only been on for about an hour and a half, been following you with the Catherine Zeta Jones avatar. I love your stories and am so happy that you are back where you belong!! YAY!!!

To the nurses out there with any sort of mental illness be it bipolar or depression or any kind of disability, you guys are my heroes and are definitely encouraging me to go after my dreams. I just got accepted to a nursing program and start in less than 2 weeks. I am absolutely thrilled that I get the chance to go after what I was meant to do. I am scared to admit what my diagnosis is, but I'll tell you, it ain't pretty. My condition occurred in the line of duty while I was in the Air Force from 99-01. I was medically separated and honorably discharged at the age of 19. I am 32 now. For the past 13 years I was told that I will never amount to anything due to my condition, that I will never be successful. I thought that I was going to be a CNA for the rest of my life. But you know what, I stopped that negative thinking, I put my mind to pass my entrance exam and I did with decent scores and I am competent enough to go through the nursing program. I am not going to lie though, I am a little scared. In the back of my mind I can hear my ex-husbands words over and over in my head..telling me I will never do good in life and I will always be in fact a piece of crap. I try not to let it bother me, but it still does. Not to mention other family members (cousins) saying that "no wonder you haven't gotten anywhere in life" still ring in my head. I am so terrified of failing. But I really want this. When I passed that entrance exam I felt so damn proud of myself. I feel as if I put my mind to something that I can do anything. It might take a little more work, but I know I can do it. I just need all the support I can get. My mother and father believe in me and so does my siblings and grandmothers..I just need to stop thinking so negatively and believe in myself. To sit hear and read of the stories and personal accounts on the nurses with disabilities has me feeling that I really can do this. I am not making a post just to get attention, I really just wanted to thank the nurses out there with disabilities that are proving their peers wrong by being awesome at what they do. You are an inspiration to me. Thank you.