How one tiny decision can effect it all.

I bet you're looking for a post about how I'm thankful for this or that since it's Thanksgiving. But you're not going to find it on this blog, this year's Thanksgiving was a bit underwhelming - minus the food, that was still there to make me fat and sassy as usual. Instead, you'll find what I think was something I did without prior knowledge to how it would effect my entire life and goals.

Before I had Offspring, I'm not going to pretend I wasn't someone who had absolutely no direction in life. I was wild, crazy, and free. Sounds cliche? Yeah it is. I was pretty much insane in the membrane and what some people would call a giant piece of shit. I was 21 years old and had not done anything with my life besides get drunk and travel. I never really had a job. I worked as a freelance graphic design artist and basically had no real money to do anything. But, getting pregnant changed all that. I needed a job, and I needed to get an education so that job would be awesome enough to supplement two incomes since being a single parent was the next stop on this one way street to parenthood.

I'm super stoked to start classes, right?!

I went to the local community college and decided to take some continuing education courses they offered. I took a math class, it was awesome for preparing me for my skills test for NA I and it was free. I originally wanted to do EMT training but for some reason that isn't held in my memory I decided to get my NA I certification. It was quick and fairly easy to obtain. It only took me two months to complete the training and it was "Jobs Now" guaranteed. I thought for sure that I would be able get a job outside of a nursing home, but I wasn't. I thought I would be able to find a full-time position making at least $9 an hour after this no problem. I was wrong. This would be the first time in the in a long line of realizations that not everything is as easy as they appear.

After completing this certification, I went on to "big girl" college. I figured I already had my NA I, why not just go with nursing? Except there's a couple problems with this theory...
1) I was already beginning to work as an NA I - I accepted a job at a hospital an hour away...making $8 an hour and part-time. I realize after accepting the job that it was mainly old people aka a nursing home setting and the pay/hours are not what I was looking for. Old people give me the creeps, is that normal? Probably not. I don't get any "aw, she reminds me of my grandma" feelings. I just stand there like a deer in headlights as they try to maul me due to insanity of being old. Point being: I'm already dissatisfied in my choice.
2) I am a sick, twisted individual. Let's face it, my sadistic sense of humor and love for making inappropriate jokes does not put me on the personality list of "nurse". I enjoy annoying people, I enjoy being my socially awkward self. I enjoy being annoyingly awkward. But do you want a nurse who will crack a joke about your recent cancer discovery? Probably not. What I am trying to say is I am not overwhelmed with the feelings of compassion normal people who choose the career as a glorified waitress have.

Those are only two of the many reasons why after starting school, I have switched my major to Latent Evidence and am currently working as a receptionist. It's nuts to think I make more money not cleaning up poo than when I did. No one tries to hit me, no one expects me to feel sorry for them and hold their hand. I probably wouldn't mind nursing that much but nurses have this whole "I touch lives" thing and their entire "my job is better than everyone else's" makes me laugh.

Moral of this post: Think about what you're signing yourself up for, before you wind up hating the rest of your life.

I'll keep you posted on what happens as far as the rest of my life goes.