What would you tell to your younger self?

Hi guys,

I'm 19 years old currently taking prerequisites courses for the adn program in a community college, I'm developing a big passion towards taking care of patients in and out of the hospital. I volunteer at a local hospital and it's one of my greatest experiences so far. What would you guys do if time has flipped back and you were 19 again?

Focus on school! Get the best grades possible and don't get all wrapped up in boys and your social life. Later on, when you have your degree you can have time for all that.

Good luck!

I would have focused more on my social life in retrospect and enjoying my youth. it doesn't last long .

If you have a good support system, take your studies seriously and get your BSN knocked out.

Don't get in a rush to get married. Education before marriage. Likewise, get on a reliable birth control method (Depo shot is mine of choice). If you choose birth control pills please make sure you take them correctly. Same time everyday, correct order etc. You would be surprised how many girls I have seen get pregnant because they aren't educated on how to take their birth control pills.

That is all.

Same as above. I would've focused more on school and spent less time socializing. I got pregnant in college and even though I still graduated, it made it 10x harder than it had to be. Then, of course when I decided I wanted to be a nurse (my first degree was not nursing) I had to work, go to school, and juggle family life. It sounds really simple, and people told me the same thing when I was young, but obviously I didn't listen.

[classicdame, MSN, EdD]

focus on school but allow for fun. There has to be a balance. When you become all you can be, then you will become the person that attracts that perfect partner.

Forget him...he's not worth your tears and the breakup will derail your life's plan of going to nursing school by 20 years! You will survive, you WILL meet someone so much better and deserving of all the love you have to give, and he will have Karma pay him a visit or how horribly he treated you and others. You just need to sit back and wait for it to happen. (and it will and DOES happen!)

Education is key! Stay in school. Socializing should take 2nd priority not 1st! Don't let the normal life issues stop you from obtaining your education. School first, marriage and babies after. (and preferably in that order :)

And finally, even though 'you' (aka my younger self) won't listen to this advice, the decisions you make will lead a delay in obtaining your dream of becoming a nurse, but it will also lead you to the love of your life and future husband and 2 healthy happy children.

Wishing the OP the best.

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

Youth is fleeting. I look back to my 19-year-old self and it seems like yesterday. I will be 32 years old in a couple of months. Time waits for nothing and no one.

My advice might go against the grain, but I personally would not become too invested in any one career. After all, a career is nothing more than a job in the long run, whereas the best things in life are free. These best things are usually different to different people: family formation, new experiences, leisure, love, romance, hobbies, pastimes, etc.

[HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD]

Forget him...he's not worth your tears and the breakup will derail your life's plan of going to nursing school by 20 years! You will survive, you WILL meet someone so much better and deserving of all the love you have to give, and he will have Karma pay him a visit or how horribly he treated you and others. You just need to sit back and wait for it to happen. (and it will and DOES happen!)

WOW!!! There's definitely a story there, right? You Go CTPixie!

[monkeybug]

Go to work in an ICU, and go to school to be a CRNA.

You have to think not just twice, but many times before you decide, because time that was lost can never be brought back. Know what you really want, and then you have to firmly stick to it. If you really want to be a nurse, be prepared to accept all consequences. Studying is never easy, but it will become a lot easier if you will learn to love what you are doing! Goodluck!

WOW!!! There's definitely a story there, right? You Go CTPixie!

You have no idea HouTX and thanks. Even after all he put me through, when I think about it, I have to thank him. Doing what he did, in part made me the strong woman I am today. So if for nothing else, I have him to thank for that.

I think I've learned a lot from my high school days. Extraverted in heart, I didn't really care and think much, but I still maintained good grades in school. As I stepped into college, things have changed. Drastic changes that made me think that there are so much things to do besides just making friends and socializing. It could come in any form of commitment.

@classicdame, Balance is one of the values that I'm aiming for, can you give me an example of how you balanced school and personal life?

@monkeybug, What's CRNA? I'm not to familiar with my terms sorry =)

[imintrouble, BSN, RN]

Financial planning.

When I think of all the money I made, and squandered, I get depressed.

Pretty much what others said. I didn't take my classes seriously and had to pay more money to retake them later to get a's in them to get into my program. So do your BEST in class!

Volunteering is great, but I would also suggest getting your CNA license and work even part time if you are able to. It's great experience.

Financial planning.

When I think of all the money I made, and squandered, I get depressed.

This too!!! Save save save! Start a savings just got school. Just got into a program and I'm seriously stressing on the costs of books, uniforms, and tuition... And my school is a community college

Save the money, absolutely. I rue the day I took a perfectly good hunk of money out of a retirement account to buy new carpeting thinking I would have lots of time to pay myself back. Gone, gone, gone...and that was decades ago and I could actually retire by now!

Words that fit so many situations: Don't put it off!

[DSkelton711]

I would still get married to the man I am married to still. As far as school and career, I would be a computer geek instead of a nurse.