Nursing School: Week One- CHECK!

           Greetings from Montgomery! Today marks the last day of my first week of nursing school at Auburn University of Montgomery. I bet you all are wondering how it went; well let me just tell you, it was OVERWHELMING. During the last three years of college I rarely remember being overwhelmed; stressed of course, but never did I feel like I was being sucked into an undertow without a life-jacket. This week was for sure humbling.
           Every Monday and Tuesday I am in class from 9AM-12PM, then 1PM to 3PM. On Thursdays I am in lab from 8AM-3PM. It does not seem like a lot of time is spent on school, but oh how that is far from the truth. After gathering all my assignments, assigned readings, test dates, validation schedules and clinical dates I FINALLY produced a master calender....it is so depressing! As of right now, I have yet to accomplish everything, reading wise, from this week.
           Today I had to sit through a professionalism conference from 9AM-12PM, those times are really getting to me, and was reversed on how to conduct myself in and out of school. A fashion show followed regarding how and how not to wear our uniforms and alternate wear. It was interesting. As I watched the Seniors perform I thought of how I could have been in their place. I am a Junior nursing student, but technically a Senior in college. So yes, I will be a fifth-year Senior, but wow, how I have learned SO MUCH these past three years.
            I do not know what to expect over the next five semesters; however, I do know it will fly by. As of right now I look at my planner and CRINGE I tell you! Can someone please come and do all my readings for me and then someone transfer that information into my brain, if so, I pay good. Another useless fact, this week I had my first pop quiz, I failed. Yes, Emily Gill failed a test. In nursing school, the lowest passing grade one can receive is a 73, so technically I failed with a 68%. Anyways, I have moved on. I understood my mistakes and that I was not prepared for that particular information.
          OH YEAH! I was assigned my lab partner and my clinical site! My lab partner could not be any cooler! She is so funny and I believe we will get along great this semester! Ironically, her name is also Emily, WHOOP! My clinical site is awesome; it is literally 3 minutes from my residence! However, I always told myself, "I don't want to work with babies, nor do I want to work with prego women or their crazy hormones." Well, what goes around comes around I say, my clinical site is on a women's services floor at a local hosiptal specicalizing in Labor and Delivery....yep. Funny how things workout like that, huh?
           Well, like any other challenge in my life I am going to approach this just the same, or maybe differently; I wont know until after I take all my first tests, then I might need some readjusting! I will try and keep this 'ole blog of mine updated as much as possible, but who knows, my next post might be graduation day. :)
           Random fact: AUM changed their mascot to something understandable, THE WARHAWKS! So, go Warhawks and Roll Tide Roll!!

           

205 to 334!

              Hello! I come to you all with great peace and assurance! As of late May, Montgomery- better known as "the Gump"- became my new home for the next two years! I was stuck between starting classes at AUM this summer and still waiting to hear back from UAB for the Fall. I was in one of my nursing classes at AUM when I received a phone call from UAB. After listening to the message, I realized it was someone from the nursing admissions office. I had been in school at AUM for a little over two weeks and I had already fallen in love. It is crazy how God puts everything together so beautifully! I loved how close I was to school, I loved my living arrangments, I loved not having to walk a mile to get to class...I just loved EVERYTHING! I contemplated returning the phone call, but after serious consideration, I did not. Still to this day I am not sure what the reasoning was behind the missed call. What if I could have gotten in, but the school needed something more? What did they want, to tell me to come in for a special meeting? Who knows. I weighed the pros and cons and I must say, I believe I made an excellent choice. Yes, I do miss my sweet city of Birmingham, and the wonderful people I left behind, but I needed this change.
          I am truly excited about these next couple of years and the people I am going to become good friends with. I know much growth will take place as well. As for right now, I stay very busy! I am writing papers in my sleep, reviewing articles every other day, reading masses of material and doing tons of medical calculations. As crazy as it seems, I love it all. I am finally beginning to feel more knowledgeable  and confident about myself being able to stand the pressure of nursing school.
          However, I still think back and laugh at the fact that I applied to the Auburn school system so many years ago and ended up at Alabama. It's so crazy how everything works out in the end. I never pictured myself here in Montgomery. Honestly, I never knew AUM existed until it was suggested to me over a year ago. I am so grateful to have been accepted though. I love my nursing class so far, everyone seems to be able to offer something different to the learning experience. As of right now, I wait. I wait until Fall begins and the real test sets in. Pray with me as I begin this new, strenuous journey. Roll Tide and Go Senators!!

Ready, Set........Wait.

           Tonight marks the last night in my sweet Birmingham as a permanent resident. After twenty years, I must move onto bigger adventures, adventures that I am not willing to accept. As of right now I have yet to hear back from UAB, which has forced me to accept AUM's invitation and to begin this summer to secure my spot this Fall. Lots of other factors are involved with this but it is just confusing so I will just end at that. As I look around my room I see boxes, packed bags and random items that have yet to be packed. I do not have a willing heart to make this move.
           I LOVE MY CITY. I LOVE MY CHURCH. I LOVE MY CHURCH FAMILY. I LOVED MY JOB. I LOVE MY FAMILY. I LOVE MY FRIENDS. I loved my life up until last Friday when I had to quit the best job I ever had. I met so many people at my work and I am heart-broken knowing I probably won't see many of them nor the kids anymore! I am desperately trying to see the good in this move but I only see the bad. However, AUM, hands down, has some of the NICEST staff members I have ever come in-contact with! Also, I would be close to Jamie's family, which is awesome since I never got to see them much anyways! I would meet new people that obviously have the same goals as I do so that would be nice, too!
            However, today at Christ City Church, at our new location in Southside/Birmingham, I was walking out of church with a good friend of mine and we were confronted by a homeless man. Funny, but I was not scared, I had an open heart to this man. I loved the man for his desire to reach out to strangers for spare change for hygiene products and something to drink. His name was Cedric and I believe God used me through our few minutes together to share His love. I hope Cedric is at CCC next week, I want to worship with him, I want to worship with a congregation that will reflect what worship will be like in Heaven. Today, that specific event made me want Birmingham more than ever. Like I said, I love our city.
           As of now, I wait on God's answer. I wait to hear from God and what He wants for my future. He knows the desire of my heart and I hope He grants it. Please, fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, pray for me during this next week, it is a crucial time for me. Amen.

Only In My Memory

      A day I was thankful for is now the day I hold dear to my heart. Since the devastation in Tuscaloosa I have wished that I was not at work but there, experiencing it all with my fellow classmates and community to then be able to help with the aftermath. The images of my poor college town break my heart. I wish I understood God's reasoning but right now, I am just thankful I am alive. I am burdened with the fact that what is left lies amongst the rubble of what is not. I see images of destroyed neighborhoods that I drove through everyday to get to campus and it sets in a mild form of depression that I can not explain. The town I remember only lives in my memory. I wish I could relax and know my friends are okay but I can't. The death toll rises and I have yet to hear from some. I have been stuck at home for days, without power, trying to find things to do to get my mind off of what has happened. Yesterday, I became so desperate that I actually washed my clothes by hand in a huge tupperware container just to find some comfort in keeping busy. I also washed mine and my dad's cars, it took forever after I decided to scrub the carpets as well. With the complete silence in my home I have had enough time to just listen. Through the noise of my neighbor's generators I have found comfort in my standing home and the clean water running from the sinks and showers. I have found comfort in God's plan for my life and His grace to keep me safe. During these past few days I have had a lot of time to think about the recent events and the death brought about. I must say, my driving passion for the medical field has never been so strong. I have felt so useless that washing my own clothes made me feel like I was actually doing some good. I wish I could do more for my community.

            Through this trying time, not only was one huge community destroyed but another as well. A town just minutes North from my home was ravaged. To those in the Pleasant Grove community, my heart goes out to you. I wish I could honestly reverse what has happened. To those who have lost a loved one, my prayers are for you all tonight. My deepest sympathy.

You're the God of this City
You're the King of these people
You're the Lord of this nation
You're the Light in this darkness
You're the Hope to the hopeless
You're the Peace to the restless
There is no one like our God
There is no one like our God
 For greater things have yet to come
And greater things are still to be done in this City

Pull of Two Cities

        Awesome news, everyone, I have been accepted to AUM's (Auburn University of Montgomery) Nursing School! Praise God, I am so relieved! I spoke with a Montgomery native today and he had nothing but great things to say about their program! I have heard many things already but to hear from another nursing student how competitive and worthwhile their program is is so reassuring!
       As of right now, I am making plans to move to Montgomery. Montgomery!? Yes, I will be moving away, permanently. However, yesterday I turned in all my application paperwork for UAB, which would also be an honor to attend! As I walked the streets of Birmingham, I began to fall in love with our city once again. I love our city and I pray for God's movement to come upon it.
       The struggles I am dealing with concerning school is this, I love my home-meaning Birmingham- and I want to experience more of the city scene. I am in love with the people of AUM because they have treated me so wonderfully and I believe a change of address would be fitting with this new chapter in my life. Two, the thought of leaving my sweet church and my wonderful friends behind is killing me. Please, pray God keeps me in Birmingham to continue to carry out His work here. However, I am coming to terms that God might want me elsewhere for the time being.
       Anyways, just wanted to give a little update since February was the last time I posted. See, school has me so stinkin' busy I can't even write a simple blog! God bless!

Thick Skin Wanted

            I am burdened. Burdened with a desire to help those in need before myself. To set aside all emotions and focus on the reality of life or death situations. The amount of stability one needs to do so is almost unimaginable. I have seen the inside of an E.R., been up close and personal with gaping wounds, and seen the pain upon the faces of those reaching out to me for help. What have I gotten myself into? Am I fit to be a health care provider? Can I with stand the hours of strenuous work and the sight of death more than any average person would see in a year? Maybe, possibly, I pray.

            I have recently had the opportunity to shadow a wonderful nurse-who also happens to be one of my best friend's mothers that I absolutely love- and from the little time that I was present I saw what a real nurse is supposed to look like. COMPASSIONATE is a perfect description of her. She truly cares for her patients and I saw that right from the start! I am so grateful to have had this experience. I learned a lot, especially about understanding the reality that things don't always go the way they should, but we as medical professions can do our best and try. I love where God is leading me in life. Working with a purpose to serve others in need is a constant reminder to stay grateful and continue to pray with humility.

             Nursing school update: I should be hearing back from AUM and possibly Troy in April. Alabama, and UAB around May, hopefully. :)

Our God is Healer.

     The words I wish to use I won't, I just cannot seem to find them.

     Two days ago I found myself speechless. Rarely am I literally speechless. I was sitting in my car, on my way to school, thinking. Thinking...an act done without words but yet so powerful. I was reflecting on the words I had been exposed to hours previously. A great man, who I consider to be another father, had been prepared for surgery to remove his re-occurring Cancer, was closed up without surgery because the Cancer had spread too much.
     
      My God is Healer. My God is Provider. My God is Comfort. My God is Giver of Life. My God is...

      My God is the One who one heals, yet the same who takes life. He determines all, not tests, scans, or even the opinions of the greatest doctors to ever live. However, he does give those men and women the knowledge to give the best care possible.

      I believe all are stuck at this moment. Waiting for an answer, looking for a sign, and hoping all turns out well. I pray for healing. I pray for strength. I pray for wisdom. I pray for one of the greatest men I have ever known to say 'I am healed'. I pray for a ending much different than most.

      Healer, show favor on Bro. Paul. Heal him physically, eradicate the Cancer from every single cell in his body. Remove the pain, remove the suffering, remove this burden from his weakened body. Heal this family who I call my own as well. Heal my family, Lord. Restore health and good news. You are the Bringer of good news, I pray so selfishly for it. Heal my own life as well, Lord, heal my wounds. Heal the drained emotions of those around looking for answers. Provide an answer, oh God, please. In all His most glorious name, Amen. 

     


    

Worry-Wart

        Tonight, I find myself sitting at a friend's apartment here in Tuscaloosa due to the fact that I have two HUGE tests tomorrow and the threat of driving in ice-infested roads tomorrow morning coming from Birmingham. In saying that, I will add this, Global Warming does not exist. I have researched this topic and it has been slowly dis-proven since Al Gore pitched his advocacy for it years ago. Now, moving forward.
        I am such a worrying type of person. On the outside, I can hold things together so well, but on the inside I worry all the time about school and nothing else in comparison. I fear failure. I fear the thought of not getting into nursing school and having to change my major to something like Art....which I like though and I even considered it a year ago, but I have just worked so hard towards this personal goal.
        Like I said, I have two tests in my hardest classes....Chemistry and Math, which I should be studying for but you know, talking about it is just so much easier than actually doing it. Seriously, Math is SO LAME. I understand the basic need for math but I will not need to know the relative max of a graph in Nursing. Now Chemistry on the other hand is a different story, it actually can be applied but it is just so hard....but exciting! I love my professor but sometimes I feel just so incompetent.
        As of today I am still waiting. For all of you that have been keeping up with my road to nursing school nothing much has changed. I am awaiting a confirmation letter from Alabama, meeting this Friday with UAB to discuss my current status with applying and last BUT NOT LEAST, I am waiting to receive an email from AUM in regards to my acceptance to the next level of admittance(which basically means I have to go in for an interview....oh joy!). I am still applying to Troy and JSU but I have yet to finish the paperwork.
       Yeah, so....as you can see I am pretty stressed right now so the natural human reaction would be to worry. However, the Bible calls us to not worry but to cast all our cares on Him, beautiful, isn't it? I will end with a Bible verse that I have used a lot lately, hope this helps you as well. God bless.

"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Matt. 6:34

Being Ready

            As I am typing this I am sitting in Gorgas Library, freezing my buns off and pushing off Math and Chemistry homework, which both suck anyways. I have something on my mind. Life and all that it entails. More specifically, marriage. WHOA. I know, right, Emily Gill talking about marriage....CRAZY! Though not so much about me in particular but all those around me as well. When will we ever be ready, will we know? I have heard a lot here recently that no one will ever be ready for such a step in life. Yes, we can prepare financially, physically, spiritually but overall, the transition is HUGE. A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to attend a wonderful wedding; the venue was beautiful, the wedding ceremony itself was so lively and the bride was just stunning. So, as you can see, it has got me thinking, how do we simply prepare?

          Me being the person I am I have always thought that I needed to be out of college and working before I got married....hmmm, wonder where that ideal came from, dad? As time has progressed and I have come into contact with more couples and their life stories I have realized, no one story is the same, duh. So, the search for finding out when the perfect time to do such things, like getting married, is impossible. Why can't such decisions be easy and care-free? To all my fellow ladies out there, single or in a relationship, I give you this, patience. Patience for that right time if it does in fact exist. I also say this, do not settle. Do not settle for less that what you deserve.

         Now, for my personal thoughts. I think far too often people abuse the feeling of wanting to get married. I have seen dead-end relationships plenty of times and the topic of marriage always was present at some point. WHAT? People, do not date just to date! Do not treat your relationship like some measly friendship that you can peace out at anytime you want. If you do these things then how in the world could you be ready for a marriage? If we all continuously do such things then the world will be full of unhappy marriages, much like it is now. People, more so ladies, find someone good for you. Find a man, not a boy. Better yet, find a Godly man, who seeks after God's will and not his own. I can say that I am beyond blessed to have the man I have in my life and I had nothing to do with it. God knew exactly who and what we both needed and He provided. Amen.

         To sum this off-the-wall blog up I will say this, I might not be ready tonight for marriage but God knows the time and the place in which I will be prepared just enough to say 'I do'. Until that time, we all must be in God's Word, preparing ourselves individually for our future spouses, marriages, and families.

Love and Thankfuless

                Tonight, as I am preparing myself for church in the morning, I can't help but realize that tomorrow will be yet another day that I will be unable to see my sweet boyfriend. Our lives are so busy; mine with school and work and his with his job and traveling, we seem to always be rushing! However, when I think of these things in his absence I remind myself that distance truly does grow the heart fonder. I am a firmer believer in this old saying because when Jamie and I are with one another we are such kids; he really is like a best friend. I am honestly one of the most blessed women on this planet to have such a man like him. No, he might not be around 24/7 like most boyfriends, but when he is, its like he never left at all. So, in saying all of this I end with a thankful heart, a prayer for him, for us and for those around us, friends and families, thank you all for being in our lives. Jamie, I love you and I pray His will be done through the both of us, together.

              Lord, thank you for your love. Thank you for true love, through relationships with close friends, family and the relationship you have blessed to Jamie and I. Thank you for blessing me with him, how grateful I am. Thank you for your forgiveness and the forgiveness we give to one another through our relationships with people. Thank you for patience; I pray for more patience, Lord. Thank you for grace. Thank you for your unfailing mercy on us from day to day. Thank you for being perfect. Thank you. Amen.

Roll Tide to Spring 2011!

          Okay, to even begin to explain my overall excitement about this semester I must start off with a ROLL TIDE! RRROOOOOLLLLLL TTTTTIIIIIDDDDDDEEEEE!!!
          For starters, I do hate having to be up so early for a 9:30 class but may I say my Pysch. Dev. professor absolutely rocks....possibly, subject to change. I seriously laughed so hard at the comments she made about fellow friends and random stories she told pertaining to our lecture. Moving on now, oh yes, my commute from class to class.....SUCKS! I am truckin' it from one class to the next, but hey, at least I am burning some calories! Met my math prof. today as well....an absolute bore if I may add but I should have known, he is a freakin' math teacher, no offense to those who teach math, just he in particular is a boring individual. HOLY CRAP, MY POLITICS PROFESSOR IS GOD SENT. First and foremost, he looks like my former pastor, and he even talks like him as well. Super nice guy, two thumbs up! Want to know what I will be doing in that class....NOTHING! We have no exams, papers, in class assignments, homework....NOTHING. All we must do is come to class, participate in conversations, read and submit like a paragraph of opinionated work.....AMAZING! I love this man. Oh and then comes my Comp. Professor, he is AWESOME, no doubt! Honestly, to describe him and his personality the best example would be Ralphie May, the comedian, HILARIOUS! Last but not least, my sweet 'ole Chem. prof., Dr. Scheiner! This man is excellent; such an honor to be taught by such a knowledgeable man!
               Like I said in the beginning, all these things are subject to change.....however, I do believe my gut feeling is correct and that this semester is going to be awesome. Roll Tide, everyone!