A New Beginning

My "Niece" Sierra just after she was born

Today is my first official day as an Idahoan. I just moved to the Boise area from Seattle, by way of Bend Oregon. Its been a journey, but let me back up and tell you a story. See this move is the culmination of a lifelong dream coming true. To spend my life, or at least a portion of it being a nurse. That might seem like an odd career choice, its not glamorous, or held in high esteem, I will not win awards or stand on stages.... but it is my dream. But the why behind the dream is the reason I am facing my own frontier, braving my way mostly alone to be where God has called me to be, and to live a lifelong dream.

Nursing has been apart of my life for a very long time. As a child my mother was sick and I did little things to take care of her and try to make her feel better. Helped change my brothers diapers and grew up loving taking care of others. But, It wasn't until I got really sick and landed in the hospital that I realized the impact that a complete stranger could have on my life. It was one doctor, Doctor Mary Brown, a local pediatrician that I give credit for saving my life. Without her I am not sure I would be around to write this. She spent all night with me in the Emergency room and talked with me, rolled me to the prayer chapel and sat with me. In one of my most vulnerable and scariest moments a complete stranger made me feel safe, protected, and valuable. I knew after meeting her that I wanted to be that for others. After high-school and many missions trips around the world, I didn't know what form the passion I had to love and serve others would morph into. I had studied to be a midwife and that didn't work out and I couldn't finish my training, so I pursued in home healthcare and worked with disabled adults and the elderly for about eight years. I attended bible college to learn how to love God and others better and be a clearer reflection of my faith to those around me. In that time I also pursued my creative outlets and became the proud owner of a small fashion house, however that dream to give back still kept knocking on the door of my heart. I had pursued pre-nursing for a year back in 2005 but after a bad personal loss I let it go for a time. It wasn't until 2008 that I began to seriously look into going back to school and finishing my nursing career, it was scary and I wasn't 18 anymore. I did another year of pre-reqs at Central Oregon Community college in my home town and then got accepted into Northwest University in Kirkland Washington. It was two years of grueling work and very little sleep. But in May of 2013 I walked across a stage with my family watching and held in my hand my Bachelors of Science in Nursing degree. Now all I had to do was pass my boards, find a job and begin my career.... little did I know that those few small tasks would land me in Boise Idaho.

I was a shoe-in for a job at Seattle Children's hospital in Seattle, my dream job. I would have been working in the Pediatric Intensive Care unit as one bad ass nurse in the new graduate program. It was a blow to my ego and heart when I received a phone call that I wasn't one of the final four candidates that would be hired. Even Molly, the nurse educator, told me that she was baffled that we couldn't offer me the job and that it didn't make sense. I felt that it must be the Lord leading me somewhere else... never expected it would be here. I was offered two other jobs, and I turned them both down because they were not what I wanted... then a month went by and all my applications seemed to be sucked into a black hole and I was just another new graduate with no real experience and very much at the bottom of the totem pole. It wasn't until the end of June that I started branching out and looking at hospitals in various states that offered new graduate programs.. and Saint Luke's of Boise was one of the only places that seemed intriguing and I applied. Two weeks later I got two different phone calls, one from another local hospital in the Boise area and the other from Saint Luke's. In the end both positions would offer me the job and I ended up feeling more led to take the one at Saint Luke's. Within three weeks of applying I was in Boise for an interview, at the end I had the job and a short month later I will be starting a job in the career I have wanted all my life.

At twenty eight years old my life is different than I imagined it would be when I was younger, but the adventure I am on was worth the wait, it is important enough to me to fight for and I am excited to see what new opportunities God opens up for me in this new place. I will be in Idaho for at the very least three years. So raise your glasses dear friends, cheers to dreams coming true, to new horizons and bright futures. Now drink it all in and go out and make your dreams come true!