So it has been a while since I wrote parts one and two...so I am finally getting around to writing part three!
The decision process began in January. I got back from winter break to find a letter from BJC Goldfarb School of Nursing. THEY WANTED ME!!!!!! Though they were probably at the bottom of my list, I was grateful to just have one option. At that point I knew my dream had an opportunity to come true.
A few weeks later I heard from MGH Institute of Health Professions. They wanted me TOO!!!!!!! It was crazy! Then I heard from UM Sinclair School of Nursing...who also had accepted me! It WAS INSANE! I truly did not think that I would be three for three. I still had one more though.
After the ups of hearing from the 3 other schools...a few downs got thrown in. Middle of January I got an email from Johns Hopkins informing me that several parts of my application were missing. Cue freak out moment! Lots of phone calls and emails were sent. And though it took a while to get a new letter of recommendation and make BYU resend my transcript...finally everything was set.
But obviously Johsn Hopkins was not close to making a decision. But MGH had to know....and they had to know now! I had been doing a lot of pro con lists and investigating. I had been talking with institute directors, people who lived there, academic advisers, friends, and family trying to get all the information and advice that I could.
I took MGH off the list first. I was stressed beyond belief about having to decide about Boston before I knew about Baltimore. Though there were lots of pros to living and going to school in Boston, it didn't feel right. In fact it felt terrible. Once I chose to not go there I felt so much peace and calm.
Finally I heard from Johns Hopkins. I was sitting in the testing center...taking a test of course. When I felt my phone vibrating at my feet. I of course couldn't pick up....but when I got out of the test I immediately checked my messages. And on my phone was one of the BEST messages I have ever gotten. It was an adviser from Johns Hopkins School of Nursing calling to congratulate me on my application which was..her words not mine....a pleasure to read. And despite the high level of competition....I HAD BEEN ACCEPTED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! OH MY GOSH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Seriously this was my DREAM COME TRUE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
But now I had to make a decision! Which school was I going to go to???
I had sent in deposits to both Missouri schools just to make sure I had a spot somewhere!
But I had to pick which I would go to. I pushed the St Louis school off the list....because I wanted more of an adventure then the bedroom I have lived in for 14 years! Although it was tempting as it was VERY safe!
So it was down to Missouri and Johns Hopkins. They were very alike. The pro/con lists were very even which made it super hard. Their price tags were QUITE different. TONS of prayers were said. TONS of tearful phone calls were made to my mom. Every time I went to the temple...this was the question in my mind.
Johns Hopkins was my dream. But it would come with a hefty price. Missouri was the LAST on my list. But it was still a very good school.
My sweet roommate Andrea summed it up best-----"Which is your dream...to go to Johns Hopkins or to be a nurse?"
I want to save lives...not just physically but emotionally. I want to be that nurse who holds mom's hand as her child goes into surgery. I want to be the nurse who comforts the child when mom has to leave for work. I want to be the nurse who everyone wants cause it doesn't hurt as much when she gives you a shot. I want to be the nurse who makes every cancer and NICU patient she has, has a little hat to keep them warm. That is the dream....that is the real dream.
And so I decided...Mizzou here I come!
Because Life is Not Meant To Be Wasted
Monday, March 28, 2011
My Journey to Mizzou---Part 2 Application Time
Let me just tell you..there are at least 100 ABSN programs in the country. And while that may not seem like a lot and when compared to the number of nursing programs in general there are....you are right...not very many. But when you have 100 choices of what to do with your future....it is pretty overwhelming.
But its me...so I made a list. I ended up with about 60 schools...mostly based on places I wanted to live. AKA..schools on the east coast....in Missouri, Utah, California or Alabama...in a big city...or some place warm. The southwest, most of the Midwest, Texas and anything north and west of Missouri were out of the running. From this list...I again whittled it down to about 14ish....this was done again pretty indiscriminately mostly focusing on location again. Closeness to home and/or family as well as proximity to a beach also played a pretty big role in this process.
From the list of about 14, I made a spreadsheet. There were columns for institute size, start times, lengths, prerequisites needed, costs, distance from home/family and then overall pros and cons. This was one INTENSE spreadsheet. I spent hours collecting information. At this point I became an octopus...on the other hand, on the other hand, on the other hand....till I had at least 10 hands (guess that makes me a squid??)
After a great deal of weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth (I actually had no idea it would only get worse!) I chose 5 schools. University of Missouri (Mizzou), University of Utah (the U), Johns Hopkins (JHSON), Massachusetts General Hospital Insititue of Health Professions (MGH) and Goldfarb School of Nursing (GF).
Each had pros and cons. JHSON was my DREAM! MGH would be awesome cause I would live in Boston. GF is in St Louis so I would get to be in the BEST place on earth with the BEST people on earth. The U would mean I got to stay in Utah with some pretty awesome people. Then there was Mizzou---I needed a 2.9 GPA to get in....basically and honestly it was on the list only in case everyone else said no.
So I applied. SERIOUSLY ANNOYING PROCESS!!!!!! None of the schools had the same requirements for essays or recommendations or even deadlines! Juggling it all was difficult. Recommendations are really hard to get let me just say. It means sucking up and awkwardly asking people to write nice things about you...not cool. And essays are hard to write and I had to write in a different way for each school. Again sucking up. Lets be honest...the application process is just a long series of sucking up!
Anyway so I got all the applications in. Except for the U. That one had the latest date. And for some reason I wasn't feeling it. In the end I decided to not apply because I just didn't think it was where I should be. Although I am slightly regretting that decision as my time to leave Provo is drawing near.....I'm not wanting to LEAVE! But anyway...Everything was in and I was just waiting for the letters......now comes the WORST part :)
But its me...so I made a list. I ended up with about 60 schools...mostly based on places I wanted to live. AKA..schools on the east coast....in Missouri, Utah, California or Alabama...in a big city...or some place warm. The southwest, most of the Midwest, Texas and anything north and west of Missouri were out of the running. From this list...I again whittled it down to about 14ish....this was done again pretty indiscriminately mostly focusing on location again. Closeness to home and/or family as well as proximity to a beach also played a pretty big role in this process.
From the list of about 14, I made a spreadsheet. There were columns for institute size, start times, lengths, prerequisites needed, costs, distance from home/family and then overall pros and cons. This was one INTENSE spreadsheet. I spent hours collecting information. At this point I became an octopus...on the other hand, on the other hand, on the other hand....till I had at least 10 hands (guess that makes me a squid??)
After a great deal of weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth (I actually had no idea it would only get worse!) I chose 5 schools. University of Missouri (Mizzou), University of Utah (the U), Johns Hopkins (JHSON), Massachusetts General Hospital Insititue of Health Professions (MGH) and Goldfarb School of Nursing (GF).
Each had pros and cons. JHSON was my DREAM! MGH would be awesome cause I would live in Boston. GF is in St Louis so I would get to be in the BEST place on earth with the BEST people on earth. The U would mean I got to stay in Utah with some pretty awesome people. Then there was Mizzou---I needed a 2.9 GPA to get in....basically and honestly it was on the list only in case everyone else said no.
So I applied. SERIOUSLY ANNOYING PROCESS!!!!!! None of the schools had the same requirements for essays or recommendations or even deadlines! Juggling it all was difficult. Recommendations are really hard to get let me just say. It means sucking up and awkwardly asking people to write nice things about you...not cool. And essays are hard to write and I had to write in a different way for each school. Again sucking up. Lets be honest...the application process is just a long series of sucking up!
Anyway so I got all the applications in. Except for the U. That one had the latest date. And for some reason I wasn't feeling it. In the end I decided to not apply because I just didn't think it was where I should be. Although I am slightly regretting that decision as my time to leave Provo is drawing near.....I'm not wanting to LEAVE! But anyway...Everything was in and I was just waiting for the letters......now comes the WORST part :)
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
My Journey to Mizzou...Part 1 The Beginnings
Well ladies and gentleman of the blogging world. It is official. I will be attending the Sinclair School of Nursing at University of Missouri in Columbia, Missouri beginning this May and graduating with a Bachelors of Science in Nursing the following summer. I am really excited to be moving into the next chapter of my life....but before I do, it has been requested that I tell the story...from the beginning. So here we go!
It all began on a chilly afternoon in November..the year 1988...the place...Falls Church, VA.......wait not that beginning??? ok well then lets fast-forward. But actually not too much. Just to middle childhood I guess (child dev speak for 4-7). This was when I came to the knowledge and understanding that my grandma was a nurse. I loved to play hospital with her whenever she visited and was a nurse for Halloween several times. Even back then I thought being a nurse would be really cool. But then again I also thought high side ponytails (think Deb from Napoleon Dynamite) were cool.
Fast forward some more to the year 2003....freshman honors English with Mrs Fischer (awesome teacher btw) Our research paper that year was supposed to be about the career we wanted to pursue. I of course chose nursing, specifically pediatric oncology nursing. Chose not because I was firm in my thoughts, but definitely interested. Through this paper I came to the decision that I really wanted to be a nurse.
Fast forward a bit to my decision of where to go to college after graduation. I chose Brigham Young University, not only for the environment it would provide and the low-cost of tuition, but also for the fact that the nursing program had a fairly high reputation.
So I came out to Provo. All through freshman year I prepared to apply to the nursing program. I was really really excited to be able to study nursing with a perspective of the Gospel. The classes were hard, but I was ok with working hard. I took a 100 level class called a Preview of Nursing. This class solidified my career choice. Every week in that class, I felt sooooo strongly that I needed to become a nurse, I was often brought to tears (not saying a whole bunch seeing as I am a serious cry-baby!). But I knew this was what I needed to do.
I spent the next couple of semesters preparing and applied in Fall 2008. The email informing me that I was denied acceptance was one of the worst I have ever received all my work was for nothing. My dream seemed over.
However in the preview class I talked about earlier, my teacher mentioned that the University of Utah had an Accelerated Bachelors Program. Basically, you get a Bachelors in ANY field, and the in 12-18 months you graduate with a second Bachelors degree in nursing. (for future reference...I will call this ABSN-accelerated bachelors of science in nursing) I began at this point to investigate with these types of programs.
I also chose a different major at this time. I selected Human Development. My second semester as a freshman I was taking Physiology and Bio-Organic Chemistry, both 4 credits. I also played A LOT...till very late/early times ;) However, I NEVER missed my 8 o'clock Child Development class and got a solid A. This was kinda a sign for me...and it was the best decision I EVER made!
It all began on a chilly afternoon in November..the year 1988...the place...Falls Church, VA.......wait not that beginning??? ok well then lets fast-forward. But actually not too much. Just to middle childhood I guess (child dev speak for 4-7). This was when I came to the knowledge and understanding that my grandma was a nurse. I loved to play hospital with her whenever she visited and was a nurse for Halloween several times. Even back then I thought being a nurse would be really cool. But then again I also thought high side ponytails (think Deb from Napoleon Dynamite) were cool.
Fast forward some more to the year 2003....freshman honors English with Mrs Fischer (awesome teacher btw) Our research paper that year was supposed to be about the career we wanted to pursue. I of course chose nursing, specifically pediatric oncology nursing. Chose not because I was firm in my thoughts, but definitely interested. Through this paper I came to the decision that I really wanted to be a nurse.
Fast forward a bit to my decision of where to go to college after graduation. I chose Brigham Young University, not only for the environment it would provide and the low-cost of tuition, but also for the fact that the nursing program had a fairly high reputation.
So I came out to Provo. All through freshman year I prepared to apply to the nursing program. I was really really excited to be able to study nursing with a perspective of the Gospel. The classes were hard, but I was ok with working hard. I took a 100 level class called a Preview of Nursing. This class solidified my career choice. Every week in that class, I felt sooooo strongly that I needed to become a nurse, I was often brought to tears (not saying a whole bunch seeing as I am a serious cry-baby!). But I knew this was what I needed to do.
I spent the next couple of semesters preparing and applied in Fall 2008. The email informing me that I was denied acceptance was one of the worst I have ever received all my work was for nothing. My dream seemed over.
However in the preview class I talked about earlier, my teacher mentioned that the University of Utah had an Accelerated Bachelors Program. Basically, you get a Bachelors in ANY field, and the in 12-18 months you graduate with a second Bachelors degree in nursing. (for future reference...I will call this ABSN-accelerated bachelors of science in nursing) I began at this point to investigate with these types of programs.
I also chose a different major at this time. I selected Human Development. My second semester as a freshman I was taking Physiology and Bio-Organic Chemistry, both 4 credits. I also played A LOT...till very late/early times ;) However, I NEVER missed my 8 o'clock Child Development class and got a solid A. This was kinda a sign for me...and it was the best decision I EVER made!
Saturday, March 5, 2011
We'll Never Fredette----Thanks for the Emerys
DREAM TEAM 2010-2011
FAVORITE MEMORIES OF THE BEST BASKETBALL SEASON EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
-Chanting YOU GOT JIMMERED!!!!!
-Spending hours in line...in the snow...and the cold.....and in a tent
-WHOOSH...CECIL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
-Starting a new tradtion..2 thumbs up after successful free throws!
-FOREVER we will remember the DANCE
-WWJD----What Would Jimmer Do??
-Jimmer worship!! HAHA Michelle!!!!!
-Thumbs up from Jimmer at the gym meet
-Winning the MWC!!!!
-Teach Me How To Jimmer...Teach Me Teach Me How to Jimmer!
-Raps from TJ Fredette
-AIRBALL! YOU GOT SWATTED!!! LEFT RIGHT LEFT RIGHT!!!!
-TAKE HIS WHISTLE!!!!!!
-I'm Blind, I'm Deaf.....I wanna be a REF!
-Cosmo crowd surfing all the way to the top!
-FACE PAINT
-Jimmer will you marry me...or me......or my sister!-
-Seniors LOGAN, JIMMER and JACKSON
-Supporting Davies through a rough time
-SAN DIEGO STATE..enough said
-Cosmo dancing with the Cougarettes
-Polka dot headbands
-SHIMMYING OLD LADIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
-Season long WHITE OUT!!!!
-Skipping LOTS of class
-Being THIRD in the nation!!!!!!!!!!!!
-Seeing a whole new side of Andrea ;)
-Getting Pappy to a game!
-Blue Gatorade
-Someday it will say Fredette on my ID card.....
-When I look into your eyes, they seem to shimmer..I love you Jimmer
-Someday it will say Fredette on my ID card.....
-When I look into your eyes, they seem to shimmer..I love you Jimmer
-Rally Towels and White Pom-poms
-Singing along with the Pep Band
-Jump on It... OH OH OH OH.....Ahah Eheh Ahah..I put my hands up in the air sometimes
-DUNKS!!!!!! Davies, Abouo, Emery, Collinsworth
-The loudest pink shoes i've ever seen
-Adam in all white....with neon green shoes
-Hartsock and Abouo on FIRE!!!!!!!!!!
-20, 30, 40 foot shots from Jimmer!
-Spending time with all my friends from the 92nd WARD
-Almost crying at least 10 times at the final home game of the season
What a great season!!! I am so grateful to have been able to be here for this season. What a great way to end my time at BYU!!!!!!! I will miss watching my boys rip up the court!!!!
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