Life Is Full of Up's and Down's

Third semester of nursing school has been BUSY. Like actually busy.

Between classes, exams, assignments, clinicals, and trying to somehow have a life in between, there are days when I come home completely exhausted. Clinical days especially can take everything out of me. But even on the most tiring days, I find myself thinking about how worth it all of this is.

I'm actually doing it.

I'm becoming a nurse.

And lately, I've also been learning a lot about myself and the people around me.

Sometimes it takes uncomfortable situations to make you realize who is genuinely there for you. I've learned that not every friendship is going to last forever, and that's okay. People can enter your life, teach you something, share a chapter with you, and eventually go in a different direction.

But what has surprised me the most is realizing just how loved I actually am.

And I don't mean that in an egotistical "everyone loves me" kind of way. 😂

I mean I've started noticing the people who check on me without being asked. The people who listen when I need to talk. The people who invite me somewhere because they genuinely want me there. The classmates who hype me up. The friends who remind me that one difficult situation doesn't suddenly change the person they've known me to be.

I've had people reach out, sit with me, laugh with me, study with me, and remind me that I'm not alone.

Sometimes we're so focused on the people who are walking away that we don't notice how many people are still standing right beside us.

I'm learning that genuine relationships don't have to be forced. You shouldn't constantly have to prove that you're worthy of someone's friendship. The right people will communicate with you, call you out when you need it, forgive you when you make mistakes, and still allow you the space to grow.

I'm also realizing that I don't need to change everything about myself because of one difficult chapter. There are things I want to work on, absolutely. I want to listen more. I want to respect boundaries better. I want to slow down and let trust develop naturally. I want to be more intentional with what I say and who I share things with.

But I still want to be me.

I still want to be the person who gets excited about little things, brings people together, hypes up my friends, and cares probably a little too much sometimes.

And honestly, nursing school has taught me the same lesson.

There have been exams that made me question myself. There have been clinical days where my feet hurt, my brain was exhausted, and all I wanted was my bed. There have been moments when I've wondered how I'm supposed to keep doing this.

And then I have a moment with a patient, finally understand something I've been struggling with, laugh with someone at clinical, or realize how much more confident I've become compared to when I started.

And suddenly I remember why I'm here.

Third semester is exhausting, chaotic, and probably taking years off my life 😂, but it's also been incredibly rewarding.

I'm surrounded by more love than I sometimes realize. I'm building a future I'm genuinely excited about. I'm learning who I am, who my people are, and what kind of person and nurse I want to become.

Life isn't perfect right now.

But it's good.

And I'm really excited to see where it takes me next.