Who am I?

*woot* 2009 is here!
What a tremendous year! I feel that I accomplished a lot in the last year. Let’s recap some of the great moments and accomplishments of 2008:

Graduation
I now have my Bachelor’s degree in nursing! Four years of hard work paid off. Usually nursing school plus prerequisites is finished in at least five years, some cases four and a half years, but I was able to do it in four years! What a load I carried. I’m just glad it’s over. No more school for me for a while… And what a graduation party I had!

NCLEX results
I have my nursing license! Who wants a foley, an IV, and an enema?

Commissioning as a 2LT
I have completed four years of ROTC, passed LDAC, and finished my BSN. Now I’m on my way in the big Army to work as a nurse to take care of soldiers. I have finished OBLC at Ft. Sam Houston, TX and now ready to work at Womack Army Medical Center in Ft. Bragg, NC. My career is just starting!

Steady paycheck
With new job comes new paycheck! It’s so awesome to see my bank account have money every two weeks. But it’s heartbreaking to see money being deducted for taxes and bills every month. Learning to budget my finances has become fun for me. There are many neat ways I can make my money work for me if I put a little of it away every month. Of course, setting aside my tithes for God is a must.

Moving out
I have said good-bye to California and have said hello to my new home in North Carolina. It’s a big change in location for me. It’s away from family, friends, and the places that I know so well. I don’t know where I’m going to go for boba anymore! There isn’t any EMW Tea Co. around here.

With moving out I will be moving into my new apartment. The whole process is new to me: looking for a place to live, dealing with landlords who are not my parents, finding stuff for my place, and paying MORE bills. This is a big step for me in growing up. I am really going to start my adulthood in North Carolina.

My first vehicle
My 2008 Toyota Tacoma Double Cab 4x4 SR5 aka Blue Belle. Not much more to say about her except that she’s beautiful and my burden to pay off for the next couple of years.

In addition to accomplishing all these things I have learned a lot during the past year:

God’s timing
I found it hard to be patient for certain things. I always wanted to rush things so I can get them done, check them off my list, and go to the next thing to be accomplished. My NCLEX took all summer, but I finally passed it! During the process of studying I learned more about trusting in
God and asking for His help to help me study to get my nursing license.

Food, shelter, transportation, and yes, a boyfriend/girlfriend can be yours if God comes first in your life! Sounds cheesy no? But it works. God will provide if you put him on put of your list.

Also remember your priorities. Look at your checklist and see what you need to accomplish. Ask yourself, “Am I focused at the task at hand?” “What is distracting me from reaching my goal?” “What do I need to do to get job done?”

Let your head rule your heart
I have found that my emotions can cloud my judgment. I’m glad I have good friends who can shine light into my problems. It’s good to have another perspective when dealing with emotional issues. It may seem fitting to go with your emotions because they have such a strong driving force, but the logical answer is usually the best one. You don’t want to do the logical answer, but you also know it’s the best one for your situation.

A lot of things happened in 2008. I’m glad they all happened. They all happened for a reason. Now I will take the lessons that I’ve learned and apply them to 2009.