May 3rd 2022

I am a hopeless romantic. I have been for as long as I can remember. Disney princess movies? Love them. Any Nicholas Sparks book or movie? Read it, watched it. The cheesiest romantic comedy known to man? Seen it. The thing is, it’s not just these movies and books that made me a hopeless romantic. It’s the story of how my grandparents got together and how he asked to kiss her first. It’s the story of how my parents met when my mom dine and dashed on my dad and he went on to seek her out in a 300+ persons lecture. It’s the story of how my sister and her husband didn’t talk for a year before reconnecting and falling in love, with a baby boy on the way soon. It’s the way I grew up with my brother in law because he has been at my sister’s side for as long as I can remember. Naturally I want the same romantic love story that not even Walt Disney could write in my life. While I have yet to find that yet, I may have found something better for now.

5 months ago, I began my final semester of college and the start to a new year. I started this year with a trip, all by myself. I had barely flown in my life, let alone by myself. Four flights in five days, and I loved it. I went to a beautiful small town and met so many great people. While it wasn’t a tropical, fancy destination, it was the exact getaway I needed. I fell in love, not with the guy, but with traveling. All I think about now is where to go next. Shortly after that trip, I did get my heart broken. I took that time to let myself heal appropriately. I put my heart into school, the gym, my friends and family, and I took a step back from social media. Most importantly, I got to put my time in at the hospital.

Twice a week I would walk into twelve hour shifts that felt like a dream. I used to dread my long shifts and could not get off the floor fast enough. It wasn’t until I started on the labor and delivery unit that I truly fell in love with what I do. I chose to be a nurse for a reason, and this was my reason. I got to help women in a pivotal moment in their lives. I got hold beautiful babies when they first come into this world. I got to see mothers and fathers cry tears of joy. I got to see the miracle of birth almost every single day. I never really understood what a miracle entails until I was standing alongside various mothers during the birth of their children. I fell in love with labor and delivery, and more importantly I fell in love with being a nurse.

At the end of my rotation, I accepted a staff nurse position on this unit. A good friend of mine also accepted a staff nurse position on the floor right above mine, saving babies lives that I will help deliver. We agreed to live together for the next year. We found an incredible apartment complex that we get to call home. Instead of being fearful, I have started to fall in love with the future I’ve created for myself.

In 5 short months, I’ve found love in my life. While it is not the hopeless romantic love story I’ve been dreaming of, it’s a love I’ve needed. I fell in love with the life I’m living and the person I’m becoming. It may not be a story Nicholas Sparks would write about, but for now it’s a damn good one to me. I don’t know when my “perfect love story” will happen in my life or even if it will, but I know what is happening in my life right now and I love it. I’m not saying it’s always going to be this glamorous. I know there are times I won’t be able to travel, or my shift will be really sucky and draining, or even days I struggle in my living situation. What I do know is I created this life and for the first time that I can remember, I am in love with it. The rest will come, but right now I’m going to enjoy this as best I can.