So I did it. I passed with my CNA course with a 4.0. YES that's right, a 4.0. BOOYA! Though the grading system is different than regular 4.0 but still that is the highest grade, and I got it. I received my diploma from Salt Lake Community College and now have it framed on my desk where I see it everyday to remind me why I am doing what I'm doing. I haven't taken my state test yet because they were scheduled out five weeks as it was, and now that so much time has passed and I'm so bogged down with my studying and classes from my current semsester I haven't studied or practiced my skills which, I have to admit is scarying me. I do have plenty of time though in all reality so I'm trying not to let it scare me too much. I believe I have two years to get my state license before I am required to take the class again. It's just been a month and a half so if I register now and start studying I will be just fine.
Thankfully most jobs will allow you four months to get your license upon hiring you for a position. So that is good news too. I am still looking for work and hope to get a job at SDCH. It will be the perfect in between location for me when I start school up at the DATC next spring (if all goes according to plan so keep your fingers crossed for me please! I have already ran into quite a few snags and road blocks with class scheduling, financial aid etc. In fact right now I am still waiting for my student loan money and I did not get a grant this time so that has made things very difficult).
Add to that the fact that I am only taking 10 credit hours, and all at night (which has proven to be a big mistake as I'm not learning as well at night and am super tired and find studying during the day much more difficult. I will NOT be taking night classes from here on out if I can help it) and I am super bogged down with homework/busy work that I can barely fit in my part-time housekeeping job one day a week every other week. I am very worried about how I am going to try to fit in a regular job when taking care of the responsibilities of the house is a job all its own, and one I'm behind on as it is. I seriously don't know how I am going to work and go to school too. Hiram says its okay if I don't work, but really we just can't afford it even with renting out all our rooms in the house. So that causes me a great deal of stress.
So I can't decide which is worse, working or the stress of not working. I am not one to take hand-outs. Never have been never will. I have worked off and on (mostly on) since I was 16 years old. I have worked some jobs I've loved and many I've hated just to pay my bills and buy food. Even when I could apply for financial assistance, I usually haven't. This year I was fortunate enough to get on unemployment, and it was wonderful while it lasted. Now that it is gone, things are tough again. I don't want to work right now, because I am working so hard on school. Getting good grades, and doing well and actually understanding what I am learning is VERY important to me right now. I am working hard to have a good solid foundation for my future classes and for my future career as a Nurse.
I feel a lot of pressure to succeed and there is no time for failure because our plans revolve around my success. We want to move out of state, and we want to have the security net of me having a good job so after supporting me for three long years through school, Hiram can take some time off and relax. We want to know this time it will work when we move because I will already have a job lined up. It takes three years to be a nurse if you're lucky. In my case it will take four, thankfully at the end of this semester marks the end of year one. Perhaps had I not waited so long to go to school, and taken some math, chemistry and biology classes in high school, I may have discovered my interest and ability in these areas much earlier on.
Then again my path is what it is, and I can't change a thing, nor would I if I could. All I know is right now I'm on the right path and things are going really well. It's a lot of hard work, more homework than I could have imagined for an entry level chemistry class, but I know the time and dedication I'm putting into it will pay off for me in the end. It's already time for my first break this coming weekend. Time is going by so fast. This semester will be over before I know it and then after the next break I will be hitting Spring semester hard core.
My plan for Spring semester is all day classes, and I am planning to take as many classes as I can so that I can take less classes and have a bit of a break for summer. Then hit fall hard again to finish up my Associates degree and my nursing pre-requisites so I can start the Nursing program at DATC Spring of 2012.
This is my path.
