Wow, hey everyone! So I’m Madison, or as my sister calls me, Mads. I’m 23, a struggling, yet thriving college student, and I have a hunger for God & Life. I am writing this in bed, working on a glass of Yellowtail Moscato, and thinking about the future. It can be terrifying. In LESS THAN A MONTH I will be graduating Nursing School! I started this journey so long ago and the finish line always felt unreachable. Now that I have done my exit counseling, paid my graduation fees, and ordered my cap, gown, and tassel I feel like someone needs to wake me up from a dream. Me? A whole nurse? Who is letting this happen?! All I can say is God is good. All the time.
I decided to start this blog because there are so many milestones coming up in my life that I want to document, and I am sure so many people can relate to! From graduating Nursing School and beginning my career on the Cardiac ICU; to paying back loans, and saving for a home … there are so many adventures I am excited and scared to face… and now I will be sharing those moments with you!
All of my life I have always been known as Savannah Smith’s sister, and to some people I still am. Which is cool, I love my sister! But through nursing school and working at the hospital I have been able to navigate what my own life is about beyond being the sister of the beautiful girl who had a liver transplant and radiates God’s light. I have always had a strong personality and a blunt way of being, but I have always looked up to my sister to know what a girl, teen, and woman should purvey. Going down a different career path has made me step out of my comfort zone and the safety of my sister, to learn who Madison is. Let me tell you, nothing breaks you down and builds you into the person you’re meant to be more than nursing school.
I spent countless nights downing energy drinks and coffee, studying notes in between caring for patients on the weekend night shifts, and crying my eyes out wondering if I made the right decision to pursue nursing. Yes. That’s what I would tell myself. Yes. Yes, you did this to yourself. Yes, it really sucks sometimes. Yes, this is God’s plan. Yes, you just watched a woman give birth to new life. Yes, you just made a high A on a nursing exam. Yes, you just watched a large needle be used to decompress a heart. Yes, you can do this. The more I fed myself positivity, even in the dark times, the easier it became to make my way through school and life.
Everyone has self-doubt sometimes. Some of us are unsure of who we are. But the journey to self-discovery is half the fun!
Thanks so much for starting this journey with me // reading me go on and on about myself! I just wanted to share my excitement in a way that isn’t a long Facebook post that is going to just get lost in the scrolling and drama.
XoXo, Mads