A little update :)

(Image via Google)

Ever since I finished college for the summer, I have been taking some time to rest, reboot and rediscover some of my hobbies and interests that I-unfortunately-had to abandon while in college due to lack of time (and sometimes-energy). As most of you probably know nursing school can be quite tough at times, due to stress, obstacles and different issues that arise throughout your experience in college. For me, it took it's toll in the form of a non-existent social life and a general feeling of exhaustion after a year of working my butt off. In my first semester of college my schedule was packed to the brim and looked something like this:
Monday-Thursday: leave the house at 7.30 and drive an hour to college, where I would have class until 5pm and then go to the library for an hour or to, and finally get home at 8 or 9 after driving for an hour.
Friday: class until 1. grab lunch and drive straight to work where I would be until 10 pm
Saturday and Sunday: work from 7 am to any time in the afternoon (it varied from week to week).
The above is what my schedule looked like during the class portion of the semester. As you can see it was a busy time and had I looked after myself better I probably would've been able to do more. My diet wasn't the best (eating junk on the go), exercise was non-existent and sleep was poor. I loved my job and equally loved college as well, but doing both was increasingly difficult, when you add a 2 hour commute into the mix. Something had to give. After the Halloween break (a week of catching up on sleep and working on assignments non-stop), I was facing into a 5-week block clinical placement. As excited as I was about it, I also knew how demanding this time would be, and how much pressure it was going to put me under. I know that all nursing students go through the same stress and demands, so I'm in no way complaining, by the way. (I know how lucky I am).
During clinicals my schedule looked something like this:
Monday-Thursday. get up at 5 am, leave the house at 5.50, get there at (or before) 7 to get a good parking space and change into uniform etc., start work at 7.45 and stay there until 5 or 8 in the evening. I would usually have one day off during the week, which was nice because it gave me an opportunity to run errands and do all those little jobs that we can only do mon-fri (ring insurance companies, go to the post office, bank..you get the jist).*During this time, the only thing that made this whole routine bearable was the actual nursing work itself, which cemented my determination to become a nurse. I enjoyed every minute of placement, and learned an incredible amount, so the early starts were more than worth it. In a way, I think it was the universe's way of testing my desire to become a nurse. I think I passed :).
And Friday, Saturday and Sunday my routine was the same as before, so again it was quite busy. And because I was working in healthcare at the weekends as well, sometimes it felt like I was working 7 days a week. Which, if I didn't love my job as much as I did, would be incredibly tough.
So by the time semester 2 came along, I knew what to expect, and what changes I had to make in my life to make it easier. I gave up the junk (slowly but surely haha), started walking more and going to bed earlier and eliminating distractions. It was a long process, but by the end of the year I felt like I grew and gained confidence in my abilities. I learned how to cope with huge amounts of stress (school-,work- and personal life-related, sometimes all at once!). I learned how to shut out the negative voices and people who were draining me. I learned my strengths and weaknesses and made some big decisions which affected my life in a positive way.
My point through this is that in order to go through this journey I had to sacrifice certain things. I could no longer spend 24/7 with my family, I couldn't run to my friends' house when they were upset about the little things. I also couldn't read as many books, watch as many movies and tv shows as I would like to. You learn to pick and choose your battles.
So it's probably no surprise that during the summer, when I've had more time, I've been indulging in all my favourite hobbies and activities, and feeling amazing about it. I've been exercising literally every day ( which is a huge achievement for me, because I used to hate working out. Now I freaking LOVE IT!), eating healthy (which helped me lose over a stone in weight-yay!), and sleeping miles better. I've been reading lots of books, catching up on my TV shows (my Sky+ box was full with series link'ed shows) and watching lots and lots of YouTube videos, as well as reading blogs. I've been spending lots of time with my family. In fact, I'm heading away to visit my grandparents in 10 days for 2 weeks-can't wait! I've been looking after my mental and emotional health too. My stress levels are at about 0 right now and I must say it feels amazing.
I wanted to write this post as a form of therapy in a way. I wanted to write down my thoughts about this amazing journey I'm on in a candid way. I'm hugely grateful to be on my way to becoming a nurse and all the blessings I've been given. I'm now officially 1/4 of the way there. That's an achievement in itself.
If you're reading this and you're in nursing school: what was your 1st year/semester/week/day like? What advice would you give yourself/someone in that situation? Do you think it's possible to do it all and be all things to everyone? And if you're a parent or working a demanding job, what tips/thoughts do you have to share on the subject?

Thank you for reading my ramblings and I hope you're having an amazing day.

xG