Behind glass shielded walls, a woman lies in a sterilized bed under crisp, white sheets. Her breath is short, as the whirring of her monitor continues. Her daughter lays beside her. It is midnight, and even now she has pain in her chest. Despite the drip of drugs that run through her veins, her heart thumps, weakly, half of her heart failing. The other, trying to beat harder, but is tiring. She has congestive heart failure. At any moment her heart could stop beating. The very thing that keeps her alive is failing her. And to think, a few hours earlier she was putting up the Christmas tree, and enjoying her time with her kids before they went off to college. Snow falls outside her window, like it had a few hours ago. However, it does not bring her joy now. The north star shines through her window, seeing its brightness through half-open eyes, she dreams of leaving this place. Of becoming healthy again. 

Her dream is to get out of the hospital. 

Mine is to get in. 

I want to help mothers like her. I want to be there when she’s rolled into the operating room. I want to be there and help her heart become fixed, grafted veins from her legs placed to heal her failing heart. I want to be there as she opens her eyes to see her daughter, and son with her, as her heart beats healthy again. I want to help these children's mother heal day by day. Hour by hour. And I want to be there when she is wheeled out and stands proudly in front of the hospital room doors as she walks out, heart pumping, with her children. Ready to decorate the Christmas tree once more. 

My dream is to help mothers, fathers, children, all people. My dream is to be a surgical nurse. Helping people go back to their lives is the one thing I want to do with my life. Seeing so many people in my life leave for the hospital and never come back, I want something different for others. 

My friend Emily, passed away in the hospital at age 14, due to an autoimmune disorder. She was the most bubbly, sweet, and kind human I’ve ever met. But, she arrived at the hospital, and never woke up. I want to change that. If there’s any way I could help one person wake up to their family knowing that they lived, then it all makes it worth it. Helping save people’s lives is worth anything I have to do to get there. The schooling, the money, the time it takes. It will all be worth it to save even one life. To save a mother, longing to be with her family for the holidays. To save a child, whose immune system is betraying her. To start my dream I’ve applied to Concordia University Wisconsin’s nursing program, and have been accepted. I cannot wait to start learning how to help people live again. And live better than before. I will achieve my dream, it’s just a matter of when.