The guest author that we welcome today is our lovely and beloved Maria Jordan of marcoujor.com. Today she shares some beautiful actual documents of her earlier life during high school days. I can only say, the evidence bears out her title of this piece. She's always had an open-minded love, fascination and curiosity about people.
Please read and enjoy more glimpses into the life of this special friend, who has obviously always had a mind of her own, and the confidence to do things her way. |
I have been a psychiatric nurse at heart, if not in practice, since achievement of my Bachelor of Science in Nursing in 1983.
I remember many instructors, friends, and even other nurses I knew who cautioned me that a year's experience in medical-surgical nursing was a must after graduation. It was highly unorthodox that my part-time job, from a 16-year-old high school student all the way through four years of nursing school, was in various departments of F W Woolworths. |
Other friends worked as nursing assistants or interns in hospital settings throughout college. They would sadly shake their heads whenever I spoke about my cool job at Woolworths. It wasn't a very 'nurse-like' type of job in the minds of many.
Talk about learning how to actively listen, think on my feet and help calm people down. Turns out my job was the perfect setting to prepare me for both my career and, come to think of it, my life in general. I learned the basic bones of communication and human relations in a job that taught me: The customer is always right.
The other day I happened upon a yellowed, high school paper I had written for my final English class, A Bird's Eye View from a Cashier's Cage.
It brought back a flood of wonderful memories, of 36 years ago. As I re-read words written by a 17-year-old mar, I experienced both nostalgia and the thought that some things never change.
I remember taking the concerns of my instructors and friends very much to heart. As Mom advised, I thought long and hard about my decisions, both my initial area of specialty and my job history.
In the end, it was always my heart that I listened to. Today, I realize this life pattern has worked very well for me.
You will lose all your skills! You will never have credibility!
Don't you want to be a REAL nurse?
To be a true nurse, one has to essentially love people. I discovered early on in my job at Woolworths that people were amazing, interesting and that I thrived being with all kinds of personalities. I learned as different as people could look, we all tended to appreciate respect, kindness and being listened to when there was a problem.
In 1978, I first saw The Wiz. Long having loved The Wizard of Oz, I fell in love with this inspirational show and check it out every time I can.
Over thirty years later, I see how the message of the story mirrors life--recognizing and believing in the power of your own inner strength and ability to find your way.
This song seems a fitting way to end my ponderings. I appreciate this opportunity Vicki has given me to share my thoughts with you.