Momma, I made it!

On March 4, 2016 I received a letter from the health science administration team of my university. In this letter they informed me that I have been selected for a seat in their nursing program starting on May 16, 2016. I was napping at the time my email got to me, and my friend, whom I will be going through this journey with, texted me 5 times in the span of 5 minutes. When she saw I wasn't responding she called me and yelled "LOOK AT YOUR EMAIL!!!!" I don't think I've ever woken up so fast in my entire life!

Since then I've done 6 certification classes, gotten my fingerprints done, gotten a drug test, did an online background check, and made an appointment for my physical. I also attended the first of two orientations. I'm just so ready to start! Let me not forget to mention that I'm currently in a microbiology course, which I just want to finish so I can start the nursing program.

I can officially register for my first semester of nursing school on April 6, 2016 at 8:00am, and I'm just dying to get it done, just so I know it's real, it's actually happening. If you're a pre-med student, or a pre-nursing student, you know what I mean when I say, I JUST WANT TO START.

I know that for sure I'm going to be saying I JUST WANT TO FINISH within the first couple weeks of the first semester, but the fact that I made it, that I got in, just makes me so happy and excited!

I can't believe that after so many years of struggle and hardship, I can finally say I'm a nursing student!

MOMMA I MADE IT!!!!!

Have you applied to get in to your school? Have you gotten your acceptance letter? When do you start? When will you apply? I want to hear your stories of your journey to get in to nursing school! Comment below, and lets chat!

Study Tips

Today I purchased the books for my A&P class, well didn't purchase, but I put them in my cart to purchase in a few days. Of course purchasing books are pricey, but it's an affordable price this time. Doing this made me realize all the studying I need to do this semester, so I decided to do a post about studying,and tips for effective studying. 

• Get rid of every and any electronic device!

No that doesn't mean keep it at the table with you, nor does it mean to just put it on silent. It means GET RID OF IT! Sorry but keeping it near you is means for distraction! Now unless you need that electronic device for studying, there's no reason to keep it by you! I use my IPAD for studying because I take lecture notes on it. I have yet to find it as a distraction because I turn the wifi off! If I find it starting to cause distraction I tend to print those notes out and use them on paper as opposed to my ipad. If I make any new notes on it or change it I will scan it on my printer and add the document on my note taking app. I don't need my phone or computer for studying, that's what the book and lecture notes are for.

• Take quick and easy notes in class, change them later

Doing this will encourage you to go back and add information that your missing. For example, the professor goes over a definition in class and instead of writing down the definition because you know you can find that later, you write down the examples he gives. Professor that give examples are more likely to use those for the exam as opposed to just asking you to define a word. So write down what he says, and later go back to the book and look for whatever you're missing. Also using this method means you miss less of what he's saying by trying to write everything.

• Read the chapter twice

I know how odd that sounds, reading the chapter twice especially when you have tons to read and not enough time to read it. When I say read, I mean skim through the chapter. When you do this twice, you'll notice more things than before. Actually read each header, and while skimming through the paragraph in that area, find the main ideas. When I skim the first time I don't highlight nor write any notes. When I skim the second time, I highlight or make note of what I find important. I usually do this the second time, because I tend to notice that somethings are obvious which means I don't need to highlight or note those because if I know the main idea of the paragraph, I know the obvious facts. When I note the main ideas, I make bullet points to go with them and write my own facts and understandings of the lecture and chapter. It sounds like a lot of work but it helps to learn the topics of the class.

• Color Coding

Color code everything you write/read. Definitions in green, facts from the notes in purple, facts from the book in pink, facts from your own understanding in blue, etc. I hope you get the point, it just makes things easier to look for. Don't go and write everything in a different color if you don't want to. I write everything in black, but I make the bullet points color, or I write the specific topic in the corresponding color. I use highlighters on the headers of different sections depending on what information it belongs. I just add colors to make it call for more attention, and it helps remembering later because you use a different memory for the different writing methods. It also helps to find information on a fully written on sheet quickly. For example if the professor is asking me for a definition on an assignment, I'll grab the notes for that topic, look for the corresponding header, and look for the green writing or highlight. It makes it easier to look for.

That's all I can really think of right now, but I'm hoping to get some more tips out of my head. I'll write them on my phone as I remember, and update this post with them. I don't normally take pictures of my notes, and I don't really have any notes right now because classes don't start for another 2-3 weeks but I will post pictures of what my notes and stuff look like as soon as I start!

I hope that this helped, and if you want any more specific ideas for studying feel free to contact me; stacyh003@gmail.com!!

How do you study? What do you use? How do you take notes? Do you change it later? Tell me what you do to study, maybe we can collaborate and make a huge studying post! Don't be shy, comment below!

Motivation Monday: Pictures

Pictures are worth a thousand words they say, and using them to your advantage as your motivation is highly recommended. I have a million pictures where I see how much I let my self go, and whenever I feel like letting go and going back to my old ways, I look at those pictures and I see why I started. You also have progress photos, taking a picture almost everyday is also highly recommended, because all in due time, you can put your pictures side by side and see the immense progress you've made. Something you can't see when you're just looking in the mirror. Measurements are also very motivating but I'll talk about that on next weeks motivation Monday. 

This is one of the first pictures I took that I saw how far I had let myself go, and if you follow my Instagram, you would see that I posted it, and wrote this message about it: "So this is the photo that actually made me change my ways. Seeing this made me realize the way I've let myself go. It made me super upset about the fact that I let myself get to this point. Many people might look at this picture and not see what I see but I see it and that's what counts. Everything I think about giving up or quitting because it gets too hard I will look back at this picture!" Seeing this made me realize that I just didn't care anymore. I've gotten very much over this picture based on the look, but the way that I felt in the picture, and the way I feel now are still important. In the picture, I'm exhausted constantly out of breath, and with constant heart burn. Now I don't suffer as much heart burn as before, I'm not always out of breath, and I'm more energized than ever before. 

There are more pictures that I look at and hate myself for letting me get to that point, but I won't share them all because I have to keep some things private. Use your pictures, take them everyday, it'll help you through I promise!

Is there any pictures you use? Would you like to share them? Comment below I would love to hear your story!