Have your cake and eat it too!

Nursing is complex.

So is life.

I'm human, living out my life in the best way I can everyday. I try my hardest to love, smile, teach, grow, empower while dealing with pain, loss, heartbreak, failures and so much more. Why should I change the way I operate in life because of my career? Why should I have to choose a good life with a sucky career or a sucky life with a great career?  

I remember one day my sister and I were joking around like we always do, I can't really recall what took place at that very moment for me to respond to her the way I did but I remember my response to her was "You can't have your cake and eat it too!" she literally turned her head to the side, leaned forward staring directly into my eyes and said "Why?! Tobi Why can't I have my cake and eat it too?! who said I can't?!" I literally busted out laughing at how serious and challenging she was on the matter of the cake. She literally gave me a look that she is ready to take on anyone who would stop her from having best of both worlds. As funny as that moment in time was, my sister had no idea she sparked a nerve in my body. Why can't I live my life and enjoy my passion for nursing? Why do I have to give up my life to help heal and save others?

During my first couple of years as a nurse, I witnessed several of my colleagues who were unhappy with their work life. They would constantly complain of feeling overworked, lacking support from management and fed up with being underpaid. At first, I felt like I couldn't relate to their agony because I was a single new grad with less than 3 years of experience who was just trying to learn as much as I could, all the while feeling grateful that I'm a nurse with a J.O.B!  But little did I know that I would soon catch the "unhappy" bug too... but fortunately, due to my passion for nursing and my desire to have a fruitful life, I was on a new mission to find my "best of both worlds".