Why I want to be a nurse

I'm working on my nursing school applications -- odd things, these applications.

UIC (my top choice) decides almost completely on essays - your writing skills and leadership potential count for 2/3 of their decision. Truman College (a good choice, despite this chilling fact) only determines admission based on grades, coursework and an odd calculation of life experience. The other contenders want a mix of an application - essays, letters of recommendation, transcripts, and all that.

I'm writing essays, re-reading what I've written, editing and thinking about all these questions. I think about reasons I want to be a nurse -- helping people, working hands-on, utilizing my toughness regarding/interest in all things gross and all that. I'm not a nurse and I can't be a nurse until I'm a nurse. Before I was a teacher I taught. Before I took a single journalism course I wrote. But I won't know what it means to be a nurse until I'm a nurse or at least a nursing student.

I read this column in The New York Times and it's a nice picture of what it means to be a nurse. I want to be that person who helps when you're sick.

I want to be the nurse who explains what all the beeping is when your dad is hooked up to six machines. I want to be the nurse who laughs along with you as you and your husband talk about getting married even if his face isn't moving as long as he can shower and drink at the wedding. I want to be that nurse who calms down people without discounting them. I want to be a nurse who helps and comforts. I want to be the nurse who answers questions even if they've been asked a hundred times. I want to be a nurse who is tough, kind, brave, competent, learning and unafraid. I've seen nurses like these - and so have most people who spent time in a hospital.

I want to be a nurse.

I hope I can put those things into words. And for places that don't care about those things - places where grades are worth more than caring or tenacity - I'll apply and see how it goes. But I'm watching my words and hoping that I can paint myself as someone who will be a great nurse because of my experiences and because of who I am.