Personal Narrative: A Career In Nursing

I look away as the needle is slowly injected into the skin. I can sense the sting of the needle as it pierces through the wrinkled skin. My grandpa just injected himself with a dose of insulin for his diabetes. I wait by the sidelines, too incompetent to help him. All too often I feel paralyzed with helplessness. Maybe it is because of his blank stares, which reminds me of how distance he is from the rest of the world, or the fact that he has Alzheimer's. I tormented myself with these questions: What can I do to help? How am I able to help? It was later on after my grandpa was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s that my grandmother on my mom’s side was diagnosed with Lyme disease. I could not take it anymore, I had to do something. No more waiting for someone else to come along and help. I was going to figure out how I can play an active role in helping others.

Every since I was little, I pictured a life of a nurse to be in scrubs talking to patients and injecting shots into people’s arm while handing out lollipops to children. Little did I know that nursing was more than making people feel physically better. It is a job that is geared to the well-being of the patient’s physical and emotional state as well to connect with patients. In order to be more involved, I motivated myself to participate in more leadership and community orientated roles within my school and outside of