There are a lot of things to do before right now and when I actually start the program. It’s still kind of a rush, I’m still coming to terms with the whole idea that I actually got in. You guys, I’m going to be a Student Nurse. But things I’m doing this month (May) include:

• Getting a bunch of vaccines. My ‘big’ one is the varicella vaccine (chicken pox). I had chicken pox when I was 2 months old and that’s not old enough to actually develop an immunity. So I’m getting the adult dose #1 and I’ll get dose #2 through my school.
• Getting blood work done to prove that I’m immune to some diseases that that I need the titre for. Yay?
• Handing in all my immunization information.

Other things I’m doing this month include graduating, walking across a stage and getting my degree! I’m quite excited about that. I haven’t been back on campus since I went to pick up my graduation ceremony tickets for my family. There’s still loads of things to do – a respirator mask fit test, recertification of CPR, a criminal background check (later) and a WHMIS test (July, I think). But I have orientation next week (!) and I’ll be getting more information about everything then (including places to get assorted certifications). I’m really excited, I’ll be getting to meet my future instructors and future classmates.

It’s really exciting. My sisters are excited, my dad’s excited. Apparently I’m finally doing something right in his eyes! Granted, he did spend the last month of my undergraduate degree telling me that I shouldn’t have gone to university in the first place if I’m not using the degree for anything¹. Oddly enough, it’s my mom who’s been the negative one about this whole acceptance thing. She’d rather I go out into the Real World and get a Real Job and become a self-sustaining human being. I get it, she’s tired of having grown adult children living at home and going to school². But at the same time… I’ve wanted to be a nurse for forever. Everyone knows this. She knew this. So while I “get” why she’s being negative, I don’t get it, all at the same time. A BSc (at least in what I got mine in) was useful about five years ago. Which is why I started it. But now? Most science-related job postings require a background in straight chemistry and I don’t have a BSc in Chemistry. In the grand scheme of things, another 3 years in school is not a lot at all. I’ll be 25 (closer to 26 though), have two finished Bachelors and finally have a foot into the door of a career that I want. And really, isn’t that what we all want?

After I had written yesterday’s entry, I went to volunteering. While I was there, I received two emails from that school that I wasn’t expecting to hear from until Monday.

I got in.

I start my first term of nursing school in late August. I have orientation very soon (early May). There’s so much to do.

I have to hand in my immunization records, apply for student loans (hopefully get student loans, which I should based on my income/need/number of years out of high school), buy stuff (books, stethoscope, scrubs, shoes), pay tuition and just… go to school again.

So today I got all of my grades in for the term (the one I was waiting on was one of my harder classes this term – Animal Ethics where the last 45% of my grade was based on a term paper and web-based presentation). I ended off with:

Animal Ethics – A-
Health Psychology – B+
Human Sexuality – A+

I ended off my last term at this school with an A average. It was also my best year (September-April) of my undergrad yet with a B+ average overall.

When I started my undergrad back in 2007 (yes, it took me 5 years to complete a 4 year degree, shuddup), my average for my first year was 57%. I got put on academic probation, I failed a few (three) classes. And every term since then, I’ve gotten my average higher and higher. The only time my grades dipped again was when I retook first year calculus and when I took organic chem (but I passed it on the first go, unlike a lot of my classmates that had to take it twice or more). I actually aced the final of my calculus course (the second time around), but did poorly overall in the course but he passed me based on the fact that I got an A on the final. Me, calculus, an A final. Who would have thought?

That said, it’s kind of bittersweet that it’s all coming to an end. My graduation ceremony is in late May, which I’m pretty excited about. I won’t find out if there’s extra tickets for the ceremony until mid-May. I ordered the cap and gown (paid a deposit). The word “science” appears in the title of my degree four times. Yeah, they really want to emphasize my science prowess.

As for the future? I’ve applied to several schools for their nursing programs. I got rejected by one school (average wasn’t high enough, even though it was well above the minimum average), didn’t get enough “education points” from another school (it’s 0pts if you don’t have a completed degree, even though I was 9 credits away from finishing mine, that was disappointing and felt like a waste of money), I’ll find out about one school sometime in May (but it has 16 spots, so I’m not entirely sure about that one… Depends on my competition) and then there’s school #4. I’ll be finding out on Monday (30th) if I’m in or not. I hope I am… I have really strong references for it, decent grades, hopefully a good Letter of Intent that I agonized over before sending it in.

Keep your fingers crossed!