You gotta start somewhere...

Well, here we are and here's my story.

It all started back in high school. There were two things I really enjoyed: Band and Biology. I had been in honors science classes until my sophomore year in high school. After I completed my honors biology class, my guidance counselor told me that I would not be allowed to continue in honors science because my math grades were not good enough. (I was making B's in standard algebra classes) Hindsight being 20/20, that conversation really stuck with me in later years. I continued to excel in music and did extremely well in competitions and performances. When it came time to decide what to do with the rest of my life I had things narrowed down pretty well; either go into music education or pre-med. I knew that I really enjoyed biology and that I might enjoy going into medicine, but my math skills would "hold me back". I also loved music and knew that I would do well in that area no matter what. I chose music.

I went to school and after a year and a half decided that I didn't want to teach music but wanted to perform instead. I completed a bachelor's degree majoring in music education (as a fall back) and music performance. I was at the top of my class for five years. I received several scholarships, won performance competitions, etc. I practiced 3-8 hours a day. By the end of five years I was exhausted. I didn't want to practice anymore and was ready to move on. I ended up getting accepted to a well known conservatory for my master's work. I went there for one semester and dropped out. After getting married, a couple years later I finished my master's degree in music performance thinking that I would rekindle my love for practicing and performing. It didn't work. I took many auditions for orchestras around the country while forcing myself to practice. I came close to winning some small positions and actually won some local auditions in the process. Eleven years later and barely making a living the economy went downhill and the little work that I did get went with it.

By now my wife and I had a family and I was constantly complaining about the music business. My wife was behind me 100% when I told her that I wanted to change careers. I looked into other careers in the arts, but was just not interested. There is too much at steak to go into another "subjective" field. I remembered that I had once been interested in medicine, but didn't think I had what it took to make it through at the time. With the practice skills and determination I learned from music I decided to go into health care. I looked into medical school and decided that I wasn't willing to put my family through 7 - 8 years of medical school. I was overjoyed to find out that you could become a RN in only two years.

I started taking A&P just to get me feet wet and see if I would still be interested in biology. I LOVED IT! It was so refreshing and I couldn't wait to take on more science classes. In one year I finished all of my prerequisites for nursing school. I took only one or two classes at a time and made A's in everything. I knew that I was on the right track.

I applied for admission to nursing school for Spring 2010 and was accepted. I start in two weeks. Wish me luck....

-DV