Reflection

I went to U of T for my undergraduate degree with high hopes of becoming a doctor. After a few years, I became less and less intersted. My parents had these dreams for me as well which pressured me to continue on. My academic stress had reached an all time high due to these on going pressures. My parents always pushed me to be better and so the negative interactions became overwhelming. This is because I felt disengaged from them and less supported, so I stopped sharing my education with them (Zimmer et al., 2023). When I had realized that I had lost that spark of want in to become one, I felt lost. I knew I wanted to be in the medical field all my life, so I didn't know which direction I would go in. I had met an amazing person who had a family member in nursing and he explained to me what her life looked like. Crazy stories and successful in her field as a head nurse. I soon started looking at nursing and if that fit my expectations of healthcare. Being a doctor, I think is more glamorized than it seems. I didn't want my life to be in a doctor's office, writing prescriptions for joint pain. I wanted to work with a team, be apart of the patient's life on a bedside manner. I wanted time to connect with people and make a personal difference. Nursing became my obsesssion in my last year of university. I admired the medical background as well as the hollistic healing they do. It's not just filling a medication order, but lifting someone up in a time of need and insecurities. 

Being an HSW accelerated my want to become a nurse as I have met so many amazing people who've I've helped. I've learnt to hone my communication skills and have used my philosophy in every single visit I have. Helping people has made an impact on my life by adding new perspectives and gaining new knowledge. Researchers say that helping people can lead you into a strong sense of purpose in life (Melkman et al., 2015). This has guided me in the times I felt lost with what I wanted to do. I suffered through depression fourth year of university due to these struggles I was facing with career change and once I started being an HSW, I noticed a significant change in my mental health. Because I was going through something, helping others allowed my mind to focus on the positive and change my mindset which has been studied by researchers (Rini, 2014). I found my purpose and passion and they both drive each other which gives me positive encouragement for myself to go on.