Thus continued my vocational listening, part 2

Part 1: HERE

--------------------------------------------

I thought I'd give you some pictures, this time. (-:

--------------------------------------------

I graduated from college in 2005. A list of jobs and locations since then:

• May-October 2005, Fort Wayne, IN
• Panera Bread Co.
• Crossroads Children's Home
• November-December 2005, McPherson, KS
• Para-educator
• January-June 2006, Chicago, IL
• Borders book store
• Curves Fitness for Women
• July 2006-May 2008, McPherson, KS
• McPherson College
• June-August 2008, traveling here and there, went to Europe for a month 
• September 2008-May 2011, Durham, NC
• massage school 
• Elmo's Diner (for about 2 minutes 3 months) 
• UNC-Chapel Hill (11 months)
• Massage Envy (1 1/2 years)
• June-July 2011, Ashland City, TN
• Volunteered with BDM
• August 2011-current, Fort Wayne, IN 
• ACPL/NEIRRS
• Spiece Day Spa

Does that seem like a lot in seven years? 

--------------------------------------------

Between my moving and other experiences I had my random list of things I love:
-musical theatre
-choral music
-health care
-traveling
-coffee
-building relationships
-student development
-photography
-alternative medicine
-massage

--------------------------------------------

Not included in this is all the frustration and anger involved in feeling like I don't know what to do vocationally. I have always felt like I'm moving forward. I'm not lost, but I don't have the fulfilling experience of really finding the spiritually, life-giving, passion-filled life I want.

All I want is a tour guide [God] to straight-up tell me where to go and what to do.

At least I think that's what I want. I'm pretty sure that's one of those sounds-better-in-theory things.

Last year when I went for my interview for a grad program in Indiana, I was left with an icky feeling in the pit of my stomach. But I felt this curious longing that I was supposed to go to a nursing program.

WHAT was THIS?!? I went back to NC and told my friend, Theresa, and she said "I think you should listen to that."

Did I? Nope.

I didn't go to that program, maybe the icky feeling was just that that school wasn't right for me? I didn't want to read my somatic feelings incorrectly. [Please note the sarcasm directed to myself.]

SOOO, I applied for another grad program in student development. As I was wrapping up my application, I was really feeling on the fence about it. Then I turned it in. I felt more on this side of the fence. This side is the non-student development side.

After receiving the information that I was invited for an interview, I really knew that I shouldn't go.

Did I listen to that?

Oh, no I didn't. 

I went to the interview where about 100 other people were applying for the same program. I interviewed with four potential grad school assistantships, I interviewed for the program and I left. Did I feel excited? No. Did I feel the desire to really go to this program? No. Did I want to live in their housing? Yes, yes I did.

Luckily I'm not in charge, and I didn't get in. I had told myself that I would be done pursuing student development if I didn't get in.

See, this nursing thing, it keeps coming up.

1. As a 6-ish year old, I told everyone I wanted to be a "baby nurse."

2. When I was graduating from HS, I remember being really jealous of the students going into nursing programs. I didn't know what that was, I thought it was because they seemed to have a clear career path.

3. My internship my senior year of college was at a hospital with case managers, who are nurses. I ended my internship and told my academic advisor [we were fairly close] that going to school to become a nurse was on my mind. He said that I should look into pursuing that.

4. I LOVE giving pre-natal massage.

5. When I came out to IN to stay with my cousin's after my aunt's surgery, she asked me if I had ever thought about nursing. I don't know if she even remembers this since she was in a bit of a medicine-induced stupor as most post-surgical patients are.

6. When I visited the first IN program for student development, the other program in the shared office space was for nursing. The man conducting my interview told me about a student who had left the student development program for the nursing program. Why would he tell me that?

7. I mentioned midwifery to a friend and she didn't even blink. "Yeah, you should totally do that."

8. As I was coming to these conclusions, another friend randomly just looked at me and said, "you should be a midwife." 

BOOM.

So, I'm going to give God a little credit in all of these seemingly random [but totally not] points of nursing coming up in my life.

I think I should do it.