...So What's Next?

I've now been home for several weeks and have been asked by many people "so what's next?"

That's a really good question.

Teenagers have always told me how much they hated the "what's next" question and I never understood their dread of it until now. I have always had a plan and a goal and knew exactly what I was going to do, but God used the Philippines to show me that's not His plan for me. Having to tell people I don't have a defined answer and time goal really bugs me, but there's not too much I can do about it...

In January, I'm going to take an EMT training course at UNC. It will be every Monday and Wednesday night until April when I will be qualified to take the NC EMT licensing exam and (hopefully) start working on an ambulance. Lord willing, that will enable me to pay my way through college.

College... I never ever wanted to go to college... Now I'm visiting at least four different options. Ugh. I wish there was a way I could just go and take the courses I need for my degree (Bachelor's of Science in Nursing) and be done. But it doesn't work that way. I have to complete prerequisites too (Ugh...).

Currently, my number one choice of schools is Liberty University. I visited them last Wednesday and really liked their atmosphere, attitude, and approach to nursing. (I also really liked that they had a free equestrian center where if you're a Liberty student, you can just show up and borrow a horse, but that's another story...)

What I will probably end up doing (because it's the most economical and will allow me to continue working as an EMT, photographer, and doula) is going to Wake Tech Community College and getting their Associates in Nursing then transferring to Liberty Online's RN to BSN program.

Once I have my BSN, I have to work for a year in the hospital before I can go to a midwifery program to eventually get my CNM (Certified Nurse Midwife). I am also debating becoming a Family Nurse Practitioner at the same time, but we'll see what God would have me do.

So anyway, that's the scoop. I'm just praying God will make it very clear about what He wants me to do so that I don't have to sit here thinking, "I really like this university...and this one...and this one looks good too..." Hopefully sometime I'll be able to post again with more definite plans, but I've learned that it's more about the journey than the destination.