Why Nursing?

If you know me at all, you know that ever since I was little I talked about becoming a teacher. I came home after school every day and played teacher; I created powerpoints, wrote on a marker board, and taught my "class." There was never a doubt in my mind that I wanted to be a teacher, and I couldn't wait. I was the one who had countless boards on Pinterest for my future classroom and teaching career. I graduated high school in May and started college in the fall and began my journey to becoming a teacher. I hated it-the classes didn't interest me, I hated school, I wasn't doing great in my classes as far as grades went because I wasn't interested, I didn't like it, and couldn't find the motivation to study and do well. The thought of having my own classroom didn't make me excited anymore. (Let me put this out there real quick though: I have nothing but utmost respect for teachers. I had some very special, wonderful teachers throughout my 13 years in school and I have nothing but respect for them. Teaching is a very underpaid job that doesn't get the praise, admiration, respect, and gratefulness that it deserves. I just realized that I was not cut out to be a teacher.) I realized teaching was not for me. I was shocked, confused, and afraid, because for 18 years I had wanted nothing more than to become a teacher, I knew that was what I wanted to do, until it wasn't anymore. I honestly didn't know what to do. I was working at a bank and thought about getting a full-time job there, but didn't want to not get some kind of degree, and the more I thought about it, banking just wasn't something I could see myself wanting to do for the rest of my life. I was honestly hoping God would send me a husband so we could get married and have kids and me just be a stay at home mom because I seriously had no idea what I was going to do. Haha! (Kinda glad God saw the bigger picture and showed it to me in my time of fear and uncertainty! I was not ready to just be a wife and mom just yet! haha!) So I decided to shadow some people and see if I could figure out what I wanted to do. So first, I decided to shadow a nurse and just see where that would take me. Anytime I visited a hospital I quietly thought about how cool it would be to be a nurse, but always pushed the thought away because, hello, I was going to be a teacher. But, I did it. I scheduled a date to shadow a nurse at one of the local hospitals and I shadowed her for a day. I absolutely fell in love with nursing. Nothing could have prepared me for the overwhelming "this is it" moment I would have. That day, I was able to witness a birth and it was the most amazing thing. Caring for patients is amazing and gives you such a feeling of accomplishment, but nothing is more amazing that caring for a newborn baby in his first few seconds/minutes/hours of his life. It's truly amazing. After that day, I knew. This is it.

And ever since I've begun nursing school, I've loved it. It's amazing to learn about the human body and how to care for others in their time of need. As a nurse, I will get to be that calming reassurance to my patients. I will get to be a comforter to a family who is fearing what will happen to their loved one and if they will be okay. I will get to rejoice with patients during some of the most joyous moments of their life. I will get to comfort patients and families during some of the most difficult and trying times in their life.

I'm super excited about becoming a nurse! I can't wait and I am so excited to finally know what I'm going to get to do for the rest of my life. This is it.

"When you are a nurse, you know that every day you will touch a life or a life will touch yours."

What Am I Watching?

I've always loved watching TV shows, movies, game shows, stuff like that. I'm the girl who can sit down to just "watch a show while I eat lunch" and still be there at supper time! Ha! So, today I'm sharing what shows I love to watch.

Netflix Shows:

1) Gilmore Girls. I'm not really sure why it took me so long to realize the awesomeness that is this show?? I've just finished season one and I am in love. I love Lorelai's snarky, sarcastic, witty personality. I'm just desperately waiting for Lorelai and Luke to FINALLY get together already! Someone please tell me they eventually end up together?!

2) The Office. This one took me longer to get into but once I did I loved it. It's absolutely hilarious and I just can't get enough of it. My favorite characters are Jim & Pam. I also love Michael, I love Andy, I love Angela, I love Stanley, and I love Dwight. Kelly gets on my nerves, and I can't STAND Phyllis. The rest of them are okay. My favorite episode is probably "The Injury."

3) The Flash and Arrow. I've always loved superhero shows and I've always secretly wished I was an actress and could play Lois Lane or Iris West or Diana Prince/Wonder Woman. I'm a huge scaredy cat, though. Once I see something that creeps me out, it's a loooonngggg time before I can forget it. I BEGGED my Dad to take me to see The Dark Knight when I was in 4th grade and I was terrified for weeks haha. Heath Ledger did a killer job (no pun intended) as the Joker and I was scarred for life (I legit still REFUSE to watch that movie. I hate it. haha. I've seen all the Batman movies except for that one.) So, I tried out Flash and I can handle it. It's not too scary/gory for me and I just absolutely love this show. Dad and I watch this show together every week. I love the characters and the show is just so interesting and exciting for me. I can also handle Arrow and love it as well. It took longer for me to get into Arrow (I was addicted to Flash from episode one and caught up on the first three seasons in literally a month and was ready to watch season four when it came on TV). I'm not caught up on Arrow yet but I'm watching it on Netflix and slowly but surely I'm catching up. I tried out Gotham and could. not. handle it. Haha. It was way too dark for me and I just couldn't handle it. I'm not exactly sure what exactly it is that creeps me out and decides for me what shows I can and cannot handle, but I find out quickly if a show is gonna be something I can handle. Haha.

4) Little House on the Prairie. My mom, my sister, and myself have started watching this show together. We rent them from the library one season at a time and watch them whenever we have time. It's funny and has so much humor in it, and the characters are precious. I love that it is a clean show that our family can all watch together.

5) Hallmark Movies. I'm one of those girls who can watch Hallmark Christmas movies year round. Mom & I watched one the other day that was called Christmas Homecoming. It was about a military widow who has kind lost the "Christmas spirit." She meets another handsome soldier and they fall in love and it's just one of my favorites. I also love the one starring Candace Cameron Bure where she plays a doctor from a big city who doesn't get the fellowship she had her heart set on, so she moves to a super small town in Alaska and falls in love with the town, Christmas, and the handsome town handy-man. My all-time favorite Hallmark Christmas movie though is Christmas in Conway. It's such a precious movie, but def a tear jerker. It's about a woman who has a terminal disease but her husband builds a ferris wheel for her in their backyard just in time for Christmas. It's my absolute favorite!

What are your favorite shows/movies to watch?

What's in a {Blog} Name?

You may be wondering how I decided on a name for a blog. I wanted something short and simple, but something that went along with "Pate", since that's a nickname that a lot of people call me. I originally looked for words that rhyme with "Pate". Spoiler alert: those are few and far between. Ha! I can't remember if I just randomly thought of this word, or if it popped up on Google. Precisely. I thought "hmm. This could be it." I looked up the definition and I knew.

pre-cise-ly: adverb. in exact terms; without vagueness

That was it. Precisely Pate. I feel like that describes me. I'm just me: nothing more, nothing less. I'm very exact. Very simple. Very forward. I've never been one to hide things, not one to hide how I feel, not one to keep stuff from people. I don't hide things from people. I don't brag about my struggles or share them for attention, but I don't hide them. I'm not one to pretend like everything is okay when it's not. I try to be real. There's not a person in the world who has never struggled in life. I share my feelings, my opinions, my beliefs, and my thoughts. Wanna know something? Ask me. I can guarantee that I'll tell ya.

So, that's it: I'm me. Nothing more, nothing less. Precisely Pate.