10 Confessions of 2020

I am jumping right in with this one!

1. Our homeschool schedule was all over the place this semester. Despite my superior organization skills, I definitely found myself not sticking to the routine as much.. My biggest rule is to follow Maxy's lead and that's just what I did. There were days he wanted to homeschool on the weekend, so we did it.

2. I stopped using a physical planner as my master copy. Since getting an Apple pencil (100% recommend BTW!), I have moved to digital planning as my main way of maintaining and organizing my life. I do, however, keep my Happy Planner as a back up for school things.

3. I have stopped talking to some friends. Now, this is not intentional but due to school and the pandemic, it has been much harder to keep up with communicating with friends. It is easy to plan a quick lunch or get together but I find it hard to send a quick "thinking about you text."

4. I did not study as much as I should have this past semester. Do not get me wrong, I did extremely well, considering everything going on, not to mention the thousands I obtained in scholarship dollars, but I still feel like I could have done more.

5. I am back on WW. Umm... yeah, I had to get back on it to prevent un-doing all my progress while I stay away from the gym during this time. (However, I do love my at-home workouts!)

6. I prefer Snapchat as my primary form of communication (over giving out my phone number). Apparently, this is not a common thing and people really still enjoy traditional texts, but not me. I hate to have way too many threads in my phone lol.

7. I somewhat enjoy virtual/zoom schooling for myself. Initially, I was very worried and still can understand why it is not preferred but I do not mind it too much. The biggest benefit for me is that we do not have to use our sitter as often. Actually, we only used her once this past semester. Now, next semester, I would definitely like to use her much more b/c I am expecting the work to get much harder.

8. I discovered a love of white tea. I usually drink green tea every day but lately, I have been really into Teavanna Youthberry tea, not sugar or honey.

9. I realized that everything happens for a reason. Or things really do happen when they are meant to happen.

10. I wish I had blogged more this year.

- Cherisse!

Nursing School During COVID-19

Ever wondered what it is like to be in Nursing School during a pandemic? Whelp, here it goes:

• Everything is always changing! No, seriously. When I accepted my seat in the Spring of 2020, I selected my clinical site and schedule, without even thinking twice. Well, since then... my schedule is nothing like how I planned. I am nowhere near my initial clinical site. In fact, I am not even in the class with the same students who I was supposed to have class with.

• Limited study time, which really sucks. Libraries are still closed, or if they are open, have very limited hours... so you are not always able to go there and work in a quiet area. My lab hours were even cut in half, to limit the number of people who are in one room during each class. We are actually not allowed to come early or stay late, because that is considered a "congregation" and its currently against C-19 campus policy.

• No one knows what is going on or what to expect. In previous years, I bet you could ask upperclassmen what things helped them succeed or ask for tips, but most of their advice is probably irrelevant now. Our exams have changed. Classes have changed. And of course, teaching platforms have changed as well. We are not allowed in the testing center, which means we test from home... so no one can tell you how to focus on an NCLEX style exam while your toddler is crying in the next room or your dog is barking at the mailman. It is truly unprecedented. At this point, we do not even know if this will continue into the next semester or if there will be a totally different format.

Nevertheless, I stay motivated and determined to make it through and be successful! The thing that is really keeping me sane is taking time for myself every day. Although I am in the Nursing program now, I still homeschool every morning and we have attended two field trips this year. We also continue to go walking on a daily basis, which Max loves. I have even stuck to my daily workout regimen, which I am still shocked about lol. So I am achieving a good balance right now and performing well in school.

I can and will do this!

-Cherisse!