what's ahead

i knew i wasn't getting the money as soon as i walked into the room. there were no table cloths on the tables and no fancy drinking glasses, just a pile of water bottles in the corner. last year, when the students learned they were to receive $10,000 from the state to help them complete their rigorous year of nursing school there were fancy white cloths on the tables and clear glasses filled with ice. i remembered that from the picture in the paper. no such amenities this year. we were served sandwiches out of plastic boxes.

my orientation meeting was last Friday, Good Friday. seeing as how michigan has a 3 billion dollar deficit, we were told we would not be receive the $10,000 grant the state had promised to the program. we would have to go it alone. good thing the "good news" of Good Friday does not include $10,000. my friday remained "good."

there are 24 of us in the program. we come from all walks of life. one father of four just quit his job as an oceanographer and sold his prized boat to pay for this next year. one mother of two is going through a messy divorce and isn't quite sure what she's going to do. one girl was able to finish at Wheaton college in three years and is doing the 2nd degree program to obtain her 2nd BA in just 4 years. she is the youngest amongst us coming in at just 21 years old. some people are married. some are not. many people have children. but there are those of us who don't. some people will be driving over an hour each day to make it to class. and some of us will be riding our bikes. there are 19 females. and there are 5 males, one of whom declared that he was going to be a fireman but didn't want to be a sissy so decided to become a male nurse. heh.

i've already started forming friendships with some people in the group and i'm eager to get to know them better. had a nice chat yesterday with a gal who is married to a Nigerian, doesn't know how she's going to pay for this next year, is frightened by the "over-achievers," wants to work overseas, and was riding the bus. needless to say, we had a lot in common. i'm not married to a Nigerian, but I've been to the country so...close enough.

we are only the second group to attempt this year-long program, five semesters squeezed into just three. the first group will be graduating in 20 days. every single one of them will be walking with their heads held high. that gave me hope because after looking at my schedule, tucked neatly into a blue folder with gold lettering, i didn't have much hope. there will be two weeks this summer where i will have two classes that meet at the same time, an overlap. how do you attend two classes at once, you ask? i guess it's called prioritizing and i'm going to have to get good at that this next year. there will be times when i will have class or clinicals 7 days a week. there will be many nights where i will miss dinner. i will have to miss the wedding of one of my best friends. i will have to miss my husband's grandmother's memorial service. i think i will have to miss a lot of things...

but i'm ready. i am now the proud owner of a stethescope, a blood pressure cuff, a lab coat, and scrubs. i'm ready to face this head on, full force, no holds barred (did any of you know this is a movie starring hulk hogan?), eye of the tiger. ROAR! -sn

ps--pray for my husband.