Monday, March 31, 2008

End of Year Preparations

The semester is flying by. In just 5 short weeks it will be over. So, I'm starting to do some end of the year preparations.

Last year, I volunteered to put together a slide show for our graduating nursing class to show at the pinning ceremony - which seemed so far away... Well, now it is very close at hand. Mark and I just finished it last night. It is beautiful.

A pinning ceremony is in addition to the graduation and is a traditional recognition of the new nurse's journey through nursing school and her beginning of her nursing career. There is actually a nursing pin that someone puts on each graduate during the ceremony . It is a symbolic of service and identifies the nurse with the nursing school she graduated from. The ancestor of the nursing pin is the maltese cross.

Anyway, during the pinning ceremony, at one point, the slide show I created will be shown. It took a whole lot of work... Mostly by my dear husband..... Thank you, Mark! But, it will surely be worth it. It has about 150 pictures of all of us students that were taken throughout our time in nursing school. The songs I chose to put as the background are:
At the end, I added a special part that is dedicated to saying, "Thank you" to the special people in our lives who have supported us through this journey. For this I used this song:
It was so beautiful I had tears in my eyes while watching it the first time... Then I had to watch it about 20 more times to get all of the little "bugs" out of it and I ended up a little immune to the emotional effects of it... But, no doubt by the time the ceremony gets here, I'll be all ready to cry again.

The nice part is that we get to choose one person to "pin us." I chose Mark. He has been so supportive and encouraging throughout this whole process.... I truly couldn't have done it without him and it will be so special to have him there beside me as I put an end to this chapter of my life. I feel like I should get him a pin, too... Though I doubt he would wear it to work everyday! :)

Anyway, I still have to buy my cap and gown and get my papers together to send in for my temporary practice permit, etc., etc.

It's so exciting...these last 5 weeks will, no doubt, fly by (hopefully)!!!

3 comments:

minority midwife said...

Congratulations. Seriously, what an accomplishment. I cry when I think about graduation and it's still over a year away. But I can imagine it. I can taste it. I can literally feel the relief of it when I allow myself to, which I try not to do cause it isn't here yet! But for you, the time is nearing and OMG...what a monumental achievement...then it starts all over again! :o)

LP

I-Guy said...

You're an amazing person who has worked so hard for this... I am so proud of you and it's going to be an honor to put that pin on you. And you've gotten it backwards - your drive and dedication has been an inspiration for me and the kids and has inspired us to shoot for the stars. It is all of us who can't do it without YOU.

And yes, matching nursing pins would be on the same "No" list as matching sweatsuits so thank you for not making me choose between my marriage and my dignity. :)

Anonymous said...

Did you get your cap and gown yet? And your honors cords???? You know I'm concerned about it!!!! I can't wait!!!!