Top 10 Things I've Learned About Nursing School

Hi! I'm linking up with my dear friend Amanda at www.ohamanda.com for this week's top 10 lists! I never get to do this, but I'm actually able to blog on a Tuesday! (It is still Tuesday, right? I'm on staycation time, so I can't be bothered with things like days of the week.....)
Anyway, these are the top 10 things I've learned in nursing school so far (because I'm a big, bad SECOND SEMESTER STUDENT now instead of a lowly first semester....

10-I'm completely jealous of people with photographic memories. Not just a little jealous. No. More like, I-will-trade-everything-I-own-for-your-brain kind of jealous. Seriously. There is one girl in my class that makes me sick. I need to go sit beside her, I think.

9-It is better to hang out with boys on test days. Of course, being a single girl, it is probably better to hang out with the boys in class EVERY day, but it is especially important on test days. What are the girls doing on test day? FREAKING OUT! This involves crying, screaming, pacing, eating, etc. What are the boys doing on test day? Talking about sports or the weather or something else mundane. (I'm convinced that they put the test in another compartment of their brains and don't stay there until the moment right before the test. Sigh. Another thing to make me jealous....)

8-You can always tell a nursing student by watching them. We are the ones with the rolling backpacks because our books are so heavy, the stressed look on our faces, and the medical dictionaries in our hands. (I swear we have to learn a foreign language on top of everything else!)
The exercise science majors in our building run around in their cute short shorts and look as carefree as can be. (Ok, maybe I'm jealous of them, too. Only because of their ability to look so cute in short shorts, though. Most shorts look weird on me.)

7-The jokes in nursing school are on a whole different (not necessarily good) level. A 23-year old guy told me the other day that he had to go void and eliminate. You can probably guess what that means.....

6-You have to resign yourself to not having much of a life. Most days I study from 6am to about 11pm with rare breaks. Yes, school has made Kristen a very dull girl.

5-You can easily hurt your back with all the books you carry. I did, in fact, hurt my back the 3rd week of school. I got a muscle spasm in my lower back that was very painful. I had been trying to take the stairs as much as possible at school to stay in shape, and I guess carrying all that extra weight while running 3 flights of stairs was just too much. My sweet mama went out and bought me a rolling backpack the next day. That, and 25 muscle relaxers later, I was good to go (Ok, not all at the same time....)
A man at my study place asked me the other day, "You don't travel light, do you?" No, no, I don't.

4-Sometimes you have to hide from your classmates. I'm serious. I often have lunch in my car because I know if I hang out in one of the lobbies of the school building I will get sucked into an interesting conversation by someone about something other than what I'm supposed to be studying. So, sometimes you have to hide. The third floor lobby is sometimes an option, but it is better if you put on your headphones to alleviate conversation.

3-The therapeutic cry is important. As nurses we are to teach our patients that crying can be good for them. Well, the nursing students at my school have turned that name around for the times of absolute mental breakdown that occur during the stress of school. I had several therapeutic cries last semester. Apparently this is a good thing. Makes you stronger, right?

2-Smoking is bad, very bad. I've heard all my life that smoking is bad for you. I know that it causes many health problems. I just didn't know HOW MANY until I got into school. The things that cigs do to your body are just crazy. Quit now, I tell you! Before all your platelets aggregate! Hurry!

1-God has been my strength through every second. I don't know how other people live without Him, honestly. He gives me strength, wisdom, endurance, and most of all hope. I know that I would not be able to do anything worthwhile without His help, and He is stretching me to prepare me to minister to kids in a whole new, different way. There's a part of me that just can't help but be excited for what is to come.