Sunday, August 16, 2009

an announcement of sorts*

So, uh, I am going back to school. About nine months or so ago, thanks to either my therapist or my chemically stabilized moods or my waning ability to sell cheese with a smile 40 hours a week or my weariness of the ill effects of an irresponsible hedonistic lifestyle or probably some combination thereof, I got to thinking that maybe it was time that I get, like, a career, or something. Actually, the word "career" used to make me super squeamish and still does (I think it's the nerdy nasally sound of the "eer" part), so I'll just be calling it a profession. So long story short: I am applying to nursing school.

I've talked about it with my friends quite a bit, but it still feels weird for me to say out loud (or on the internet). Almost every major life decision I've ever made has been based on impulse and often irrational** gut feelings (see: Going to Columbia, My Five Apartments Since 2003, My First Tattoo). Except for the tramp stamp and the two times I attempted to save money by living with roommates, these have all been good decisions. But for me to be choosing a path that will affect the rest of my life based on practicality and lots of forethought and planning just doesn't feel like the me that I've been growing accustomed to for the last 28 years. And then there's the fact that I've been wavering on "what I want to be when I grow up" for, like, ever, and at times I've been so paralyzed by indecision that I've gotten overly excited about plans that never ended up getting realized. I'm afraid of crying wolf again.

But I've officially begun the application process with a pre-requisite college course I cannot afford, a volunteer gig at a hospital, and a GRE book (I recommend the SparkNotes version!), so I think I'm probably actually doing this. Change is hard, but I think I can do it. Case in point: I just made a week's worth of lunches for myself and no peanut butter or jelly was involved.

*The first time I typed this it came out "aorta," and I just registered for an Anatomy and Physiology class, so this MUST be the right decision, right?
**See above.

3 comments:

-r said...

Good on you, Gina! (um, there's no way to make this sound non-trite but...): I'm excited for you, and I think you're going to do great.

Kevin Robert Mills said...

Good luck...by the way, you don't know me, but I thought I'd share the story of how I found this blog. One of my Facebook friends posted something this morning concerning her "viagina" and I lolled. Immediately wanting to view other illiterates on the internets (illinternates?), I Googled the word "viagina". The link to your blog was first. The one immediately after was a link to "Why is my viagina itching? - Yahoo! Answers".

Anyway, I have bookmarked your blog and have read enough of it to say I like your writing and thought you would enjoy this unique tale of discovery. The internet has changed lives in ways unimaginable to our predecessors.

Peace,

Kevin

Gina said...

I think this series of comments might be enough to inspire me to actually start blogging again. Thanks, guys!(And Fantastica.)