Year in Review

Let's start blogging again! The past 8 months have been a whirlwind - I'll try to recap some of the highlights before moving forward to bigger and better things.

Recap
1. First year of nursing school

Donezo!

I had no idea what I was getting myself into this time last year. I could count the number of times I had been to the hospital on 1 hand before starting nursing school!

I've learned a lot the past 8 months - and none of it came easily. I have never ever been tested so much academically. Nursing involves a different way of thinking about things, which took some adjustment at first. My GPA took a bit of a hit but I know I did my best throughout the year. I'm sure this is the right career path for me and I can't wait to see what the future holds.

2. Phi Sigma Pi

I'm so proud of our Brotherhood for working together to overcome obstacles. We've come a long way in the past year thanks to the help of every single member, new and old. We will definitely miss the leadership and fellowship of our new alumni but I know with the help of our new Brothers, we will be able to step up to the challenge. I'm especially proud of my two new littles, Kristen & Rachael, and can't wait to see them grow and develop with the Fraternity. I'm also grateful for everyone's support for...

3. Dance Marathon!!!

This year, UF helped raise over $700,000 to benefit Shands Children's Hospital here in Gainesville through Children's Miracle Network. All of this money will go towards lifesaving equipment and diversionary activities for the children and families seeking care at Shands. Every single person involved made an impact on the lives of these children and families. I loved working with Erin during the spring semester to help Phi Sigma Pi raise over $14,000 for the cause. It was a lot of hard work but it's all worth it. From seeing the CMN balloons on nearly every piece of equipment on the pediatric units to watching the kids play in the play areas funded by CMN to finally seeing a patient discharged after receiving lifesaving treatments, WE helped make these miracles happen and it's a wonderful feeling.

Thank you to all my readers who helped make this happen. We couldn't have done it without your support and generous contributions. Thank you thank you thank you from the very bottom of my heart. (Sorry I haven't gotten all of my thank-you cards out but they're coming!)

4. Ben is finally taller than me
I need to practice walking in heels.

5. New job, new car

I got a job as an "assistant care personnel" in a hospital in Jacksonville for the summer. I'm very grateful to have an aunt who lives there and has been graciously letting me stay with her.Thank you, Aunt Claudia!!!

I'll be working 3 12-hour shifts a week for the rest of the summer. During this time, I'll have a preceptor to shadow. I'm very grateful for this opportunity, especially given the uncertainty of the entire application process. It all started with a shot-in-the-dark email and I think it will turn out to be a great experience.

And since this job requires a bit of commuting, my parents surprised me with a new car! Her name is Chuck, short for Charlotte, and she's a beautiful Honda Civic. Sadly, she has already had a run-in with a wandering key. Someone keyed her while she was sitting outside of our house. Really, who does that? But she'll get buffed up and looking like new next week! J has the 4Runner now that she is done with her first year of college.

WHAT?!

And Dr. Brother is about to finish 7th grade.

Yep, a 7th grader is taller than me.

Moving forward

Now that school is over, I don't have many responsibilities or obligations outside of work. I plan on spending my free time researching grad school options, working out, tanning and exploring Gainesville. Hopefully I can pull PDubbs away from his classes for a quick day trip the Rainbow River or Ginnie Springs (get ready, PDubbs!). A lot of my friends are still in town this summer so I plan on catching up with them since I didn't have much time for socializing this entire year. Time to change that!

Wordless Wednesday - Post Mardi Gras

Ouch

I miss winning.

New Neighbors

I always forget Gainesville is a real town with permanent residents. There are families and children and pets and people who don't even step foot on campus during the day. Crazy! One of these "real" Gainesville families lives next door to us in the new apartment. There is a mom, a dad, and a couple of kids running around. And I'm pretty sure they're pirates.

Ok maybe not pirates, but I'm pretty sure they're looking for treasure.

Alright it's probably not that either. But why else would they be hammering the walls at all hours of the day?

Let's stick with searching for buried treasure, savvy?

1 Day Down - 1,000,000 To Go

I successfully survived my first day of nursing school! Woo!

I accompanied PDubbs on his first Gainesville Bus experience from my apartment. Luckily we're one of the first few stops on the bus route. The people from our stop filled up all the seats, and two stops later, all the standing room was taken too! It was awful watching people waiting at bus stops along the way. The look of excitement as they see the bus coming and the mad-scramble to find their IDs. But very quickly that excitement fades to dejection as the bus doesn't slow down and they can finally read the "FULL BUS" marquee. I know from personal experience that once one bus passes you by, your day is downhill from there, my friends.

Been there. Done that.

Since PDubbs class started earlier than mine, I arrived to my class a fashionable 1.5 hours early. And instead of wandering aimlessly around trying to find the room, I hopped into the library and looked up a floorplan to the building online. SCORE! No more looking like a lost puppy!

Side note: speaking of lost puppies, freshmen have infiltrated the UF campus. They can be seen traveling in mobs, heading into Gator Dining and running into people as they obscure their vision with big-ol' campus maps.

All in all, the lectures weren't so bad. Granted, it wasn't a lot of new content but it was still A LOT of content - I took over 30 pages of notes for Patho alone! But the professor is awesome and makes everything simple, clear and almost fun. I'm looking forward to our 3-hour clinical orientation today :)

Dr. B and J are heading back to school today!

First of all, when did Dr. B get so old?! He's already heading to the 7th grade. Hopefully he won't follow in his oldest sister's footsteps and decide it's really cute to wear toe-socks with capris. I apologize for the lackluster words of wisdom but that's all I really remember from 7th grade. I try to repress most memories from that era!

And when did J decide it was OK for her to up and go to college? Doesn't she know that she's still that little girl in pigtails who liked to do Jane Fonda workouts? That same girl who dressed up as Dorothy for Halloween for 3 years? The one preferred to pick grass on the soccer field instead of kicking the ball?

Kids these days.