THIS IS HER JOURNEY TO BECOMING AMAZING!

Don’t be selfish. If you do not love the way her hair curls at the ends or her nose wrinkles when she laughs then let her go. If you don’t see her as a fucking masterpiece then let her go, because someone else will. Don’t be selfish. If you don’t love the way she sneezes or the way she dribbles the toothpaste down her chin when she brushes her teeth then let her go. If your heart doesn’t almost beat out of your chest when you wake up and the first thing you see is her soundly sleeping on your shoulder. Someone else would kill for that. Being with someone when you know you don’t love them is cruel. It’s not only cruel it’s holding them back from someone that could give them everything. Someone that feels waves breaking in their ribcage when they see her walk around the corner. Someone that has had the worst of days, but rainbows suddenly appear at the thought of her. Someone who hears the sound of her voice and it soothes the darkest of nightmares. If that is not you, let her go. She is wonder, she is magic, she deserves someone who believes that every single day, not just on certain days.

“I hope we last. I hope we do. But if we don’t, this is how I want you to remember me: I want you to remember me curled up, listening to the sound of your heartbeat and tracing maps across your skin. Remember me laughing at your jokes, even the stupid ones. Remember me in hysterics for absolutely no reason and in tears because one time you made me so sad neither of us thought I’d recover. Remember me brave, that time you held my hand and I thought I was going to die; remember me scared and gentle and delicate and breakable - only for you though, only for you. Remember me happy, and all the ridiculous ways I tried to get your attention. Remember the way I was too stubborn to talk to you and how absolutely insane it drove the both of us. Remember all the firsts and how they were so delightful we went back for seconds and thirds and fourths. Remember the songs you couldn’t stop listening to and the childish dreams you allowed yourself about the future. If it’s any consolation I allowed myself to have them too. If it comes to it I don’t want you to remember the ending. Remember the beginning. Remember the first time you knew.

I picture you everywhere. I picture you beside me as I drink my morning coffee and watch the sun rise. I see you with me, grocery shopping and running around it, laughing like teenagers. I can see us laying in bed, while it rains outside and holding the other to us. I picture you everywhere and the day it gets to all happen for real will be the best day of my life.

1. Your skin may never be perfect, and that’s okay. 2. Life is too short not to have the underwear, the coffee, and the haircut you want. 3. Everyone (including your family, your coworkers, and your best friend) will talk about you behind your back, and you’ll talk about them too. It doesn’t mean you don’t love each other. 4. It’s okay to spend money on things that make you happy. 5. Sometimes without fault or reason, relationships deteriorate. It will happen when you’re six, it will happen when you’re sixty. That’s life.

It costs $0.00 to be a decent person.

Cakes have gotten a bad rap. People equate virtue with turning down dessert. There is always one person at the table who holds up her hand when I serve the cake. No, really, I couldn’t she says, and then gives her flat stomach a conspiratorial little pat. Everyone who is pressing a fork into that first tender layer looks at the person who declined the plate, and they all think, That person is better than I am. That person has discipline. But that isn’t a person with discipline; that is a person who has completely lost touch with joy. A slice of cake never made anybody fat. You don’t eat the whole cake. You don’t eat a cake every day of your life. You take the cake when it is offered because the cake is delicious. You have a slice of cake and what it reminds you of is someplace that’s safe, uncomplicated, without stress. A cake is a party, a birthday, a wedding. A cake is what’s served on the happiest days of your life. This is a story of how my life was saved by cake, so, of course, if sides are to be taken, I will always take the side of cake.

Despite feeling somewhat invincible for the last decade, you really don’t know what’s going to happen and neither does anyone else, no matter how confidently they talk. While this is disturbing to those who cling to permanence or security, it’s truly liberating once you grasp the truth that things are always changing. To finish, there might be times that are really sad. Don’t dull the pain or avoid it. Sorrow is part of everyone’s lifetime and the consequence of an open and passionate heart. Honor that. Above all, be kind to yourself and others, it’s such a brilliant and beautiful ride and keeps on getting better.

Today, I will gently remind myself why I chose nursing. Today, I will recall where it all began, the journey of nursing school that was endless exams, frustrations, and intense first time joys. Today, I will remember, or look forward to, the thrill of graduation where I am grateful to be among my fellow classmates as we honor the Nightingale pledge of service to all future patients. Today, I will be kind to myself in memory of the mistakes and bumpy road that is a new grad’s life. Today, I will be humble in the realization that mistakes aren’t only for beginners, and struggles are a part of every day nursing life. Today, I will be appreciative of the support of any nurse, and make it a priority to be their foundation when they aren’t looking which is when they may need it the most. Today, I will just be grateful that I am able to be there for others during their darkest hours, as well as their immense joys; Not for the sake of getting through the day with satisfaction, or the glory of a title - but for the ability to touch another person’s life in the most extraordinary of circumstances.