In approximately 10 hours, I start nursing school.

It's fascinating that i'm even stringing these words together because if you had asked me when I was 16 if I would be headed in this route, I'd probably say no but life has an interesting way of pulling you into the light when you least expect it.

After my orientation, I was nervous and extremely overwhelmed about the road ahead. It's one thing to want to be a medical professional and it's completely another thing to start down that road. It's scary and weight of the upcoming responsibility has been slightly daunting. I'm trying to understand the complexity of my choices and adequately prepare myself for the road ahead.

In being a nurse, I become an active participant in someone's care and that's a mighty responsibility. Being responsible for one's self is easy but adding lives of another on to that equation, and to be honest, my palms get sweaty. I'm beyond grateful for my past college experience because it has adequately prepared me for the road ahead. Despite my anxiety and inhibitions, I'm ready for the intensity, complexity and the oddity that caring for a human life can be.

In preparation for this new journey, I'm doing a few things to set myself up for success;

1. Getting all appropriate materials and supplies that I may need. 

2. Surrounding myself with motivational and inspiring media.

3. Practicing proper time management.

4. Taking care of my body, mind and soul.

*Getting all appropriate materials and supplies that I may need.*

This past week, I ordered uniforms(which cost a freaking arm and a leg), all my school books( another OUCH to my bank account) and bought some handy school supplies. Honestly, school supply shopping is a million times more exciting as an adult but the cost can be a bit irritating, especially when looking for cute supplies. Thankfully, I was able to score some sweet deals from Flying Tiger on some cute notebooks! Anyone that knows me, is aware of my stationery specificity so finding cute notebooks like these for $2-3 each was a steallllll.  

*Surrounding myself with motivational and inspiring media.*

In addition to compulsive school supply shopping, I've been reading a few books to get me in that mindset for success. The first on the list is " Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill", followed by "How Remarkable Women Lead by Joanna Barsh" and finally, "The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran".  I've been reading these books slowly and thoughtfully because each page is bursting with lil niuggets of knowledge. Like, honestly, you could highlight all over these books and take notes and all of that. I'm hoping cultivating that mindset for success will give an extra push towards my goal. 

*Practicing proper time management.*

In addition to reading, I've been making detailed plans of how I am going to survive the next two years of school, work, life and blogging etc. For those that don't know, while I'll be in school part-time, I'll also be working full-time and for the past few weeks, I've sat at work and wondered " How am I going to pull this s**t off?"

In order to practice proper time management, I made myself a little weekly planner Excel sheet and I'll be using this in addition to my Passion Planner and my door calendar. I know, it may seem like overkill, but keeping my mind on my goals is paramount.

This is a very preliminary version of what my weekly schedule planner looks like, but I made this to give some insight into how this planner should and can be used. It goes from 7:00am - 12:00 midnight, and allows for prioritization of activity per importance, while maintaining simplicity for easy use.

Personally, I would take a glance at this everyday on my computer first thing in the morning to get an idea of my day and last thing at night to check off whats been done and move over what hasn't. For others, it might work to print this out ( in color, of course) and hang it up somewhere it can be easily assessed at the beginning and end of the day. 

Whatever way you see fit, the possibilities are endless with these planners.

*Taking care of my body, mind and soul.*

Finally, I've noticed that I'm more productive, alert and altogether smarter when I take care of my body by eating right, going to the gym/yoga classes and regular meditation and relaxation. Take a note from Erykah Badu and I and fuel up appropriately for the semester.

(Keep in mind that I'm eating a shrimp roll and singapore noodles while typing this because y'know no one is perfect).

I've been supplementing my diet with tons of fresh fruit and Trader Joes & Kashi granola bars, in addition to eating a healthy breakfast, hearty lunch and a light dinner.

For those that don't know, I maintain a mostly dairy free and pescatarian diet, and that's been keeping me in check for a while now. I find that eating fresh fruit regularly cuts my refined sugar intake and the granola bars help me fill in the gaps where I'm too busy to eat and I need some quick nourishment.

A big challenge for me going into this time of my life will be eating regular, healthy meals but I'll try my best to stay on track and keep y'all updated on my updated meal prep plans for the school year. 

All in all, I'm hoping the combination of having the appropriate materials + reading inspirational/motivational books + proper time management and scheduling + healthy living = success in nursing school and life.

As y'all can tell, I'm also becoming a mini-nursing school/nurse blog and I hope you're all ready for that aspect of my life.

I'll be updating you all the way.