School Again?!

I can't believe the day is already here....January 10th - the dreaded first day of the semester.  Tonight I'm getting all of my stuff ready to start all my new classes, and I thought I'd share with you my load of nursing school 'stuff'....that unfortunately probably costs as much as my car.

My books for *just* this semester (and I'm still missing two of them that haven't came in the mail yet).  There is a bookshelf in our house that holds about four times this many from other semesters!

And the stress level increased when I started filling out my agenda for classes, assignment due dates, and the dirty word exa*s. This is a picture of last week - nice, cozy, and EMPTY...

...and here is just the beginning of this week:

BUT...

as I write this post I can't help but be thankful.  So many people don't get the chance to even go to college, whether it be for financial reasons, inadequate grades, or family issues - God gave me the gift to be able to learn and retain the things I need to, which led to scholarships, which led to my attending college for free.  Every time I get down in the dumps about school and how much I hate it or how hard it is, I'm going to make myself come read this blog post and remember that this is just one of the MANY gifts God has given me - and I'm in every situation for a reason! Pray for me - I'm sure you've heard it before but nursing school is HARD! :)