(re) introducing myself

jennlin

hello ladies!! i am jenn, the newly appointed moderator for the chinese weddings board. i've been the mod for my local (seattle) for about 8 months now, so hopefully i have the hang of it by now ;)as a mod, we generally watch for spammers and vendors and delete those posts as necessary. we usually don't run into those too often on this board, but we do get them occasionally and i'll do my best to make sure this board is knot-sponsored advertisments only! i've been an (active) knottie for about a year and my "home boards" are seattle, september 09, and chinese weddings. i've also been keeping track of the chinese bio (in my signature) but haven't done updates on it in a LONG time, so if anyone wants to be added or has something to share, please let me know!as for the chinese aspect, i'm a 2nd generation chinese american, marrying another 2nd gen chinese. we're having a fairly traditional western wedding with chinese aspects here and there. since i introduced myself, let's get to know the other ladies on this board as well? tell us a little more about yourself!happy knotting!

tohruchan

alko726-i like reading your posts! i dont mind them being long at all. its cool that you're considering the health professions! i'm a nurse so of course i'm biased towards nurses... become a nurse! =D

Alko726

Thanks you two! You're all so nice on this board! tohruchan -- I'm leaning towards nursing, actually! I had a dream of being a doctor since I was a kid, and I grew up I sort of lost the motivation to go to school for so long. Thoughts of wanting to spend lots of time with family and being able to raise my kids without the pressures of being a doctor seemed more and more awesome. I also love that I can interact a lot more with patients on a personal level -- my grandparents as they were in the hospital before they passed would talk constantly about how great the nurses were to them even with the language barriers, and how they felt like the doctors just didn't spend enough time with them... they seemed so busy and in a rush all the time. Then when I thought about nursing, my family seemed rather devastated... I guess I was the one that they had the most hope in becoming the first "Dr." in the family. :-\ I guess that's the only reason I'm teetering between the two. In reality though, what *I* want to do is nursing, I think. My family keeps saying, "We know you'd be a good nurse, but you need to be doctor!!! Stop being so lazy about it. You could do it if you wanted to." They think it's because of my meeting FI and "settling"... untrue. Oh well, maybe they'll accept it someday.

LanaJade

Alko, if what you want to do is nursing, then that's what you should do because in the end, it'll be your career and your life. It's your life that will be affected when you're miserable as a doctor, and in effect your kids' lives too, while your parents may be oblivious to it all. Most parents don't know how it's really like to be a doctor, but I don't blame them for wanting that for their kids. Every parent wants their kids to be doctors or lawyers."Stop being lazy about it"? Wow, that's a little harsh! But I know what you mean. My parents felt like I "wasted" some years by not going to med school straight after college, but I couldn't be happier. I made sure that this was the career I wanted and that I was making the decision based on what I want in life.Once they see that you're happy being a nurse and that your kids are thriving because you can spend time with them, I think that they'll accept it. My dad is starting to realize that his hope of having grandchildren isn't happening anytime soon because of my career choice. I told him to choose one, having the first Dr. in the family or grandkids--he can't have it both ways! lol

Alko726

lol, thanks Lana. It's nice to hear that from someone other than my FI sometimes. I think my parents are happy to wait for grandkids so long as I wear that darn coat with "Dr. K..." on it. Your parents seem like they'd be satisfied with either one. Ah well... you're right, and FI has always told me the same thing -- just do what you want... as long as it *is* what you want. I think it's because they had some hopes for my older brother to do something spectacular, and he sort of did the same thing I did, only I was just waiting for the right time to go back, and I'm starting to wonder if he ever will. I tinker around with the idea still, and like you, I took time off as a break from school and to really decide what it was I wanted to do. My parents used to make comments about how I "wasted" these couple of years after college just working so I could "explore" my options. They said, "you know if you just went straight in, you'd be done in the same time you would be getting your Masters in Nursing". How many years off did you take out of college? Are we leading weird parallel lives? lol, I graduated in 2007.

LanaJade

I guess so because I graduated in 2007, too! My parents didn't push me into this career though; they expected graduate school, but nothing specific. Growing up, they thought I would go into business. I think my parents got really lucky with me because I ended up following that "path" that Asian parents want for their kids, hehe. We still have our opinions but in the end, somehow I wind up doing what they wanted anyway. For instance, I wanted to wait until after I'm married to start school, but they didn't want me to "waste" another year. In the end, it turned out my heart really wanted to start now anyway. Wait until I tell them I want to go into primary care, lol

tohruchan

alko- that's awesome! i love nursing. its a difficult and tough profession- far more intense, demanding, and challenging than people realize or the stereotype played on tv (UGH)... but it also depends on which area/specialty you work in.  it's also not for everyone- i have met some nurses who shouldn't be here. when you're in somethin' for the wrong reasons, you get burnt out much faster than everyone else.  if you're interested you can skim through my blog where i journal my nursing reflections...http://tinyurl.com/nkhxrelana- i think that's awesome you're going into primary care! there's such a huge need for primary care doctors- they're totally overworked and underpaid (in comparison to other specialists who do jack and get paid tons!)   

tohruchan

alko- what you said about relating to patients on a personal level- that's one of my fav. parts about nursing.  i love that i am with a patient 12 hrs a day so i know everything about them- from their favorite song they sing when they're hurting, to "whoa, something just doesn't look right" and being able to prevent problems from happening.  i hope one day your family accepts that you're going into a very noble profession because your heart is true and you're not after status or recognition (because we're certainly under recognized and under appreciated).  but ultimately, do what you love.   if we're blessed with the opportunities to pursue what we love, i think by all means we owe it to society to do just that.     

LanaJade

Thanks tohruchan!

Alko726

Thanks tohruchan! It sure sounds like you love what you do. I'll definitely check our your journal too. From what I've read so far... sounds like your specialty is geriatrics? I have a friend getting her masters in that right now too. I don't know what I'm interested in just yet, but sounds like you're really got to have a strong heart to make it through some days... kudos to you for that. I think it's a field that may be under appreciated by others, but can be really rewarding on a personal level.