Here We Go Again

It doesn't seem that long ago at all that I was starting my first year of nursing school. Heck, even that I was taking the TEAS, the pre-nursing school entrance exam.

And now here I am, two hours before the beginning of my first day of class, last year of school. Time flies when you're having fun, sure, but it really flies when you're ass-deep in alligators. 

Last Friday, the nursing department had orientation to senior year. One of the featured speakers--and this is a big hint about what life as a nursing student is like--was the director of student counseling services. Yes, they sent a shrink to talk to us. Mostly about anxiety and stress, which ironically all of us were already feeling by that point in orientation. When they start the day out with a lecture with the core message of "tell all your friends and family goodbye until next May," it tends to give one the nervous sweats, you know? 

In addition to my half-marathon training, I'm thinking about starting up a nursing students' Fight Club. You know, for stress relief. 

Here are a few messages from the afore-mentioned shrink that I thought I'd write down:

"What you think about most happens." (basically, The Secret in one sentence) 

--the counselor's addendum: look toward where you want to go; if you're staring down failure, you'll run right into it. 

"Don't look at the big picture: concentrate on what's right in front of you." (This especially is vital for me. If I try to think about my semester on the whole, I go fetal.) 

and finally: "A test is not a measure of your value as a person." 

All nursing students are chronic over-achievers, myself king of them. That remark resonated with me, for reasons I don't need to explain. Whether or not I'll stick to it remains to be seen. 

So, here I go. 

Again.