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We all have dreams or goals we want to achieve in this life. Occasionally we feel the need to put those goals aside as our time and attention is needed elsewhere. Afterward it is all too easy to assume it is too late to achieve those dreams. My guest this week, Monica, is here to share her story of how it is NOT too late to fulfill our dreams! Describing herself as "the least traditional student" in her cohort, she has entered nursing school after having a successful career in an unrelated field, had a family, and many other defining experiences along the way. Take a listen to this episode to see how the delays in her nursing aspirations and the experiences she has had have increased her self confidence and worked for her benefit as she begins her nursing journey.

Show Notes:

• Monica has wanted to become a nurse since she was a teen but doubted her ability to learn the sciences. This doubt took her away from her nursing dream.
• A first semester at Idaho State University USA, she feels her experiences have given her greater confidence in her ability to learn and now she loves the science aspects of nursing.
• Friends helped encourage her to get into her current program and she has found nothing but support and encouragement from the staff and students in her cohort. 
• She was very nervous about starting a program and unsure if it was a good idea, so she reached out to the program advisors who allayed some of her fears by letting her know how valuable her experience would be in the program and that she "is not the oldest" applicant for her cohort.
• Getting back into school and learning has been stimulating and exciting, not as difficult as she had imagined. She also has found that she learns better and has greater focus than she did in her 20's going through college before. 
• She and her kids now do homework alongside one another. She feels it is encouraging for them to see her working so hard to accomplish a difficult thing.
• While most of her cohort is young, in their 20's, she and the other parents in her group have found that their worries over not being accepted were unfounded. Everyone works together and supports each other regardless of prior experience.
• Her biggest challenge so far?  Time management between family needs and school work. Setting schedules so family knows when she is available and when she is studying has really helped.
• Share your successes with your family! Let them be involved in what you are doing and learning.
• Her advice? Just go for your goals! "No one will wait for you, you have to take those (goals) on yourself and the support will be there.  You only have one life. You won't regret that you tried, but you might regret not trying."

Links:

1. https://www.isu.edu/nursing/ To learn more about our guests program click here.
2. https://www.thepodcasthost.com/academy/?ref=tristansoelberg  If you have an idea for a podcast but don't know how to get started, check out this podcast course! This is the course that I personally used to get this show up and running.  *This is an affiliate link, and clicking it will show we sent you and will help support our show.*
3. https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=1358281 Looking for a good podcast host? try out Buzzsprout! this is the host I use and have had a great experience! Clicking the link shows that we sent you and earns you a $20 amazon gift card when you sign up for a paid tier and it will help support our show.