As a new semester begins to role in, books . begin to settle, and the realization that I am actually a

nursing student hits me, I can't help but wonder and think of everything I did to get here. Staring 

undergrad as a Nursing major, missing the Gpa, and finding myself switching to a new major with

 unfamiliar faces, yet still n the same building as my former nursing friends who did make it into the 

program. I remember feelings of being lost, and not really knowing how my life was going to play 

out since now I was forced to take on plan b. Plan b had an action, but I never really thought the 

outcome through. Plan b of course is switching to public health if nursing doesn't work out. Then I 

was forced to think and wonder, what am I actually going to do with this new and unfamiliar degree, 

and will I ever be able to be a nurse like everyone else I know?

     When senior year of Undegrad as a Public Health major rolled around, I had now been settled into

 the realization that I was no longer a nursing student, but now a public health student with new 

friends, new professors, and a new outcome in life. My goals have now changed, and I have now 

adapted to my new peers and my new career goals. I began to think of what I might now do with my 

degree after graduation. I began to take classes that I fell in love with and that started to address 

social and healthcare concerns I have always thought of, but never knew how to tackle. I had now 

become quite proficient at doing data analysis, as well as doing a needs assessment on a specific 

population and using the needs assessment to put a plan into action. I began to develop new ideas on 

what it might be to become a pubic health nurse. Could I possibly do both? I began to ask faculty 

about their careers in public health, look up accelerated programs, and think of how my new career 

goal could come into play with what I always wanted to do. 

      This is how I came to the realization that I wanted to work in the community eventually, not only 

doing the many things that people in public health do, but I wanted to clinically help my population 

as well. I decided that I would love to work with those in low income. Those not able to afford 

insurance, but still need the same healthcare as the rest of us. Now I was left with the task of finishing 

my nursing school applications, graduating, and going back home to my country Mali with my family

during the summer before I began nursing school.

    I applied and got into a few programs, but decided on where I am now. Not only was it close to home, 

but they offered me good financial aid , and their nursing program was accredited and well 

known. I took the steps to make sure I got enrolled. Including deposit, uniform ordering, orientation 

when I got back from africa, and getting all my health clearances done for castle branch so that I 

would be able to do clinical. Now here I am, an entire semester later, and more inspiring at that, my 

first semester fo nursing school is over. 

      From that short period of time I learned to find that one friend who you can count on to not only 

study with , but build a new friendship with, and go through both the highs and lows of nursing 

school. I learned that just like undergrad you will meet peers who do not like you, but your end goal 

of graduating is way too Big to let things like that take you off track. You meet new exams and 

assignment that were once foreign, but become all too familiar, and still manage to trip you up no 

matter how "hard" you think you study. Finally, you start to develop and give more reasoning to why

 you want to become a nurse. you learn more about the field, what it takes to be in the field, and what

 you might be able to do to help the field advance. it's just the beginning but I feel like I am strapped 

into the front of a never ending roller coaster.