6 Months Later...

The twists and turns this past 6 months have been nothing short of spectacular.  First...there was my pinning ceremony.  And then the Boards.  Oh yes...the Boards, otherwise known an NCLEX.

Pinning Ceremony

After 2 years of exams, term papers, rowdy classmates, and instructors from hell I finished school in December.  But that wasn't "graduation", per se.  Not the ceremony, at least.  December 18 is the date I finished, but January 7 is--in my mind--when I became a nurse.  That's the day that the symbolic lamp once carried by Florence Nightengale was passed to me. I was reminded of the nurses who paved the way to where we are today, and my moral and ethical responsibility to carry it forward.

During the ceremony, valedictorians from each class spoke briefly about their journey through nursing school.  There was the usual "student most likely to _____________" hijinx, which was really pretty funny.  The graduates honored their favorite instructors (it was a unanimous tie, greeted with thunderous applause).  And finally, we walked across the stage one at a time to receive our pins and a replica of the Florence Nightengale lamp (pictured above).

After that, it was time for a nice dinner out with family and friends.  Finally...it was over. 

I woke up the next morning thinking "geez, more studying???".  Even though I had finished school, I still had to study for the Boards.

Ugh.