2020

I know that I am not alone when I look at the year 2020 in the rearview mirror. What a bizarre, odd, frustrating yet enjoyable year. The year started off with a major change to my life. Leaving the county after five years was terrifying. I knew deep down I was making the right decision; however, it was still scary to change so many things at once! Job, school, leaving friends, etc. etc. Then, COVID.

I was truly happy that I was able to work through this whole pandemic. I don't know that I would have survived if I hadn't. I worked hard to be very careful and I was fortunate that I have yet to have exposure at work. I worked a bulk of the time at a treatment center. I really liked that job. I met some very fun people and felt like I did good work while I was there. In the summer, there was an unfortunate change in management that lead to my departure. I lucked out because the first cases of Covid hit a few weeks after my departure. 

My new job has been a good fit for me. I like working nights and the actual job is reasonable. I have very few patients which is super nice. I can do the kind of nursing we, as nurses, like to do. I am not bogged down by paperwork and having 30+ patients to care for. It's been a really nice change. Other than the commute, all is well with this job and I plan to hang around for a while.

School is the other big change. Academically, I have been doing very well. I have remained on the Dean's List and/or Honor roll every quarter so far. However, the first 2 quarters was really completing the remainder of the general education credits needed to get into the nursing program. This summer brought the first nursing classes. If you talk to a person going for their registered nursing degree, they will tell you that it's super intense. I think it's hard to understand that how intense and crazy it is until I was in the thick of it. The program I am taking is an accelerated degree and I have been taking it at a relatively accelerated rate. One of my motivations for selecting school I did was the rapid pace at which I could complete the program. (More on this in a bit.)

2020 brought 10 years of continuous recovery. It was hard to not be able to get my medallion in the traditional manner; however, I figure we can double celebrate next year. Everyone has made sacrifices and decisions over the past year that were hard. The holidays with my family were internet meetings this year. While different, it was an opportunity to remind myself how much I value that time with my family the memories we create together. It will be a Christmas to remember for sure! "That year that we were in the pandemic...." Over the summer months, my sister coordinated lunch and dinners outside so we could be together. Having that time together helped keep me motivated for the long winter months ahead. 

So, back to school. One thing that brought about such great change in 2020 was the realization that I was incredibly burned out and unhappy. My physical and mental health certainly paid the price and those issues lingered into 2020. Did I learn my lesson? Well, I think I did. I love being in school. Like, pay be full time to be a student and I'll do it. However, being an adult learner means that I also have adult responsibilities to take care of. I have bills to pay and goals of not financing my degree 100% by loans. I also need health insurance. I felt fortunate to find this job that was benefit eligible at 30 hours a week. 

I was given my academic map earlier this year after finding out what my financial aid was going to look like. I reduced my credit load to accommodate funding. I only lost 1 quarter in the change. So, instead of the summer of 2021, I would graduate fall 2021. The new quarter has started and I am feeling a bit overwhelmed. As it stands now, I would have a straight 50 hours a week between 2 clinical placements and 30 hours of work. Additionally, there would be 5 hours of mandated online lectures and then the 10-15 hours a week I spend studying. This quarter also introduced a series of assessment that are independent of specific classes that need to be passed in before the final quarter. 

While I love school and I would rather decrease my work hours to accommodate school, I made the decision to the opposite. What's the rush with getting this degree done in 1 year (of solid nursing course) when this program at other places can take up to 4 years. I realize that my earning potential increases exponentially after I get this degree. I also don't think I am entirely done with school after I complete this degree. So, I have motivations to want to push it along. However, I would have to do that at the cost of my health insurance coverage, my consistent work schedule and days that would be almost 20 hours in length. I looked at it and while I could probably pull it off, I wondered if that was the right thing to do. Would I be sacrificing the quality of my education by shoving through quantity?

So, I have a meeting with my advisor to look at decreasing my schedule even further. Part of me is disappointed because I would really like to be done in the fall. However, I will get done soon enough. I like my current job and basically have a year contract with them (October 2021). If I can replenish my savings, I could potentially not have to work during the last two quarters, although I probably would for the insurance. I am not sure how much this decrease will prolong my graduation but I think it will be worth it. I waited 18 years to go back to my RN, what's 6 more months. I would have to say that I learned my lesson. I know when I like something, I will go 100mph and burn myself out. Here is my chance to do what's best for me. 

I hope everyone is safe and healthy going into this new year!
​Julie