My Life

My father always used to say to me: "if you want people to respect you, first you must respect yourself". At this juncture in my life I see going back to school to earn a degree in nursing as a symbol of respecting myself and the goals I have set for myself. I have made sacrifices in my life that are common for many women: putting my husband's career before my own, and my child's life and growth before my own as well, and for many years these sacrifices have been worthwhile, but I am proud to say that my son is now 12 and not in need of his mother in the same way he used to be, and my husband is fortunately very supportive of my career goals.

Growing up as the only daughter of an Army physician in France was quite an experience. The military lifestyle over there is much like it is here in the United States with frequent moves and the constant of always being the "new girl" in school. Because I was being uprooted every year or so I learned to find solace in school work because this was an area I could excel in no matter where in France we moved. I also found that I had a natural gift for the sciences and, perhaps due to my father's influence, dreamed of one day becoming a doctor. I began my medical training in France at the age of 18 and after 3 years began working as a nurse to partially fund the rest of my studies. My first experience working in a hospital was excellent, and because I was so young and inexperience I assumed that all aspects of medical care would offer this kind of fulfillment. I chose to specialize in pharmacy and went on to earn all of my accreditations and degrees for this in France. I stayed for 2 more years in France after graduating, working as a pharmacist, which I found to be far less rewarding than my time working as a nurse had been. I missed being able to learn about such a wide variety of ailments, and offer care and compassion not just to my patients, but their families as well, in their time of need. It just wasn't the same in pharmacy, and because I lacked a passion for this field, it was not too hard for me to move to the United States, even knowing that all of my medical training would be useless here.

I have lived in the United States for ___ years now, met and married my husband, raised a family, and learned to call it home, but I still miss the satisfaction and personal growth that I found while working as a nurse. I know that I can find that same