I did not succeed as a nurse. So what?

By Sarah Aterrado - April 08, 2013



I have this callous. It’s thick and it’s dark.

Ten years ago, I chose to study nursing because I thought this career could take me to a good life: work abroad, have a car and build my dream house.  One hundred hospital duties, thirty absences and countless pink slips later, I dreaded the fact that I chose Nursing.

I regularly slept in class, I flunked a major subject because of accumulated absences, and I loathed every second of every day of every 8-hour health care lecture. I just do not like it. It costs more or less than half a million pesos to send me to nursing school and I ended up being a disappointment.

No, I do not hate the profession. It’s actually the noblest profession I know. I just hate the fact that I got myself into a career that is not right for me. I know, it is one of my biggest mistakes and I regret it. I survived nursing school but eventually left for a different path.

After college, I landed on my first job as a ghost writer. I was the happiest because I love expressing myself through words. So, I became a writer and earned a meager amount of 60php per 500-word article or 300php per day for 3 months.

My salary was too small that I could not even brag to my parents that I got my first job, afraid that I would only hear endless ‘if-only-you-pursued-nursing-then-you-would-have-a-decent-salary’ nags. But each time I see my articles published on different websites, I am the proudest ghost writer that ever lived. The salary did not really matter to me.

It was a rough start though. But that did not stop me from exploring and discovering what else I can do. From writing, I spent most of my time designing, my first love (i have had an affair with graphics designing while i was still hooked with nursing. lol).

My job as a graphics designer was a roller coaster ride. Many times, my designs were rejected, criticized, and underrated. But despite the negative feedbacks and pressure I get from it, I am breathing and I feel more alive than ever.

I honed my skills, practiced until I started to notice this thick dark callus under my right wrist, and the rest is history.

Am I successful? If by success you mean earning a decent salary, well now I am earning twice or even three times more than the nurses’ monthly salary here. Plus, I don’t even have to feel physically tired, or experience the trouble of rush hours going to work, or get home drained and fatigued. Yes, I earn twice the income and less the stress.

Am I happy? Definitely.

I may have gone astray from my chosen career path, became a failure or a disappointment, but that doesn’t mean that I have nothing else to prove. That doesn’t mean that I would forever be a failure. I risked giving up what I already have to pursue what my heart really wants. I followed my passion.

Will I be rich? Will I succeed?

I don’t know.

All I know is that I’m HAPPY and I’m earning while doing something I don’t even consider a ‘job’.

How about you? Do you love your job? :)


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7 comments

  1. You know who you are. If you have to be asked over and over again, your answers will definitely be those that reflect your convictions. That is the reason why you are happy. Keep the flame of passion ablazed. As John Powell, SJ pointed out, "the glory of God is in the person who is fully human and fully alive".

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  2. I can relate. A nurse here!

    I stumbled upon your blog when a friend of mine shared your blog post about Duterte. And then I roamed around your site and checked this page.

    God bless you miss! Stay awesome!

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    Replies
    1. Hi MJ, same here, just finished reading the blog about Mayor Duterte. I got curious of the blogger and now, reading some of her blogs. ^_^

      Hi Sarah! You are a good writer. You do have a way with words. Scrolling down your blogs is never boring. Nice job!
      God bless you.

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  3. I agree with you. I graduated my bachelor degree taking up Computer Science, but never did I learn any, I swear to you not even a single click on a mouse on how to build a website, that was year 2003 when I graduated.

    2016 when I found out that I am passionate and in love with Life, regardless of what I do for a living that is when I decided to create a blog for the purpose of writing my thoughts.

    Here I am a full-time blogger. I am not against of working 9-5 JOBS, just that not my kind of thing.

    Nice blog you have there.

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  4. I can't help but read more about the writer...the DU3O topic was great. We came from the same boat yun nga lang mine is kinda luma..1992...haha...what struck me most is the Word ....HAPPY...I used to teach my friends& others about the 3 Basic Questions In Life...keep it up!!!Go for the Ultimate goal in Life...To be HAPPY! Aloha & Mahalo

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    ReplyDelete