Cancer only happens to some people It doesn't happen to people like me, my family, or my neighbors. Things like that don't happen to people like us…. people who exercise, eat three times a day, and never forget to drink lots of water. Cancer skips over us, it just doesn't happen.
When I found out that my grandfather Chi, had been diagnosed with prostate cancer it literally felt like a slap in the face. It came like a thief in the night, stealing my family's joy and peace all in one round. It was as though our worst nightmare had come true.
After an intense meeting with the oncologist, his condition was confirmed and we began our seven month journey to save my grandfather's life From the perspective of a 17 year old girl who barely got sick, hospital always seemed like a scary place. It felt like a dark hole, one filled with sadness anger questions and death where only few survive. I strongly believed this to be true until I met with the nurses who handled my grandfather and cared for him while he received treatment. From the beginning, it was evident that these nurses were there to support my grandfather. It was like they were our personal healthcare angels, continuously showing him compassion and warmth, making sure he was always comfortable administering his medications, and providing education to our family on every single aspect of his condition. Cancer is a hectic battle, a war that is fought with human emotion as much as with chemotherapy or radiation. We were blessed with nurses that not only understood the battle, but were equipped with an arsenal of skills and a fearless, tireless dedication. On days when my grandfather made it home from the hospital I became his personal caretaker. I became very alert and nimble focusing on the different symptoms he had and making sure he took his medications on time. Although I was only seventeen, I became his “personal nurse” doing everything in my power to ensure his survival. I provided everything from basic companionship to basic health assistance, bathing him and dressing him. All the things he couldn't do, I helped him achieve. Taking care of him was the first moment of selflessness that I have truly felt and It felt divine. I felt like I was not only helping him, but saving his life.
My grandfather’s fight for recovery revealed to me my passion for helping people when they are at their lowest points. It takes a strong soul to become a warrior for someone who doesn't have the strength to continue, I believe I can be that soul not only for members of my family, but for all others. In this life, it is important to me to feel like I have a purpose, a reason for being alive. Nursing is not just a career, it’s a way of life. I believe wholeheartedly that I was brought into this world to live a life that inspires others, promotes health education, and allows me to leave my legacy.
Although it seems like its all figured out the answer to who wanted to become in the future was not always right in front of me. Growing up I wanted to be a social media influencer. As an influencer, I created content on hair and beauty then shared my passion with viewers from all over the world. This seemed like what I was destined to do until the death of my grandfather came and threw my life for a twist. After going through seven months of caring for him, I became a different person who couldn’t create the same type of content I did in the past but was eager to use my platform to shine a light on situations going on in the world that needed immediate help.As a nurse I will gain knowledge plus experience to aid in my use of social media as a platform to improve and address global healthcare needs around the globe. I can achieve this by creating content that will bring awareness to certain issues such as hygiene, proper sanitation and the spread of infectious disease. Using social media as a platform can allow me to connect and meet other health professionals across the United States who have the tenacity and drive to make a difference. Utilizing these connections, I plan to work in collaboration with healthcare professionals to help support global health issues such as AIDS, human trafficking, healthcare injustice, and mal-distribution of health workers globally. Global health issues do not exist in a vacuum, they are problems of high complexity that must be fully and comprehensively considered. Using social media I want to bring these multi-dimensional issues to the public eye to produce global collaboration and organization while leveraging all resources and using my intense commitment to create solutions to these issues. Healthcare, and medicine need not be confined to dealing with patients in a doctor’s office, it should extend beyond the walls and into all communities where anyone can access it. If a picture is worth a thousand words, then a 30-second video clip at 30 frames per seconds must be worth nearly a million.
Nursing is more than just a future profession for me; it is a lifestyle. Before one can successfully perform the duties as a nurse, I know that it is an absolute necessity to have the desire to want to become educated and learn fundamental skills. These skills need to be obtained from an excellent school with an enriched, diverse environment. By completing the baccalaureate program at Stony Brook, I know I will be challenged and influenced by top quality educators who share many of the same beliefs and hopes for others that I have. As an aspiring nurse, I possess excellent time management skills and am able to concisely multitask. Taking care of my grandfather strengthened that skill because as I cared for him, I was in school full time and worked. Juggling these tasks showed me that I do not and will not let any obstacle that comes in my way stop me from excelling and reaching certain goals. In addition to tackling large workloads, to be a successful student, especially for nursing, it is imperative to have the proper social skills to coherently and positively interact with peers, students, co-workers and faculty. Presently I work for Apple, which is a company that instills social interaction, empathy and patience into its core values. Working there has greatly strengthened my communication skills allowing me to effectively connect and relate to others. Possessing these qualities now, I not only am confident that I will have them in nursing school, but I know they will sharpen and become more keen with my higher education.
I believe, wholeheartedly, that nursing is the right profession for me and that Stony Brook’s School of Nursing is the place where I will truly thrive as a student, future nurse and friend. Although I know I will be facing an accelerated and rigorous program, I look forward to an enriching experience afforded by this institution and the invaluable ability to give myself to others. Using my grandfather's story as my drive, I know that If he were here, he would be extremely proud of me at this very moment.
