My Story Concept Map
(CLICK BELOW TO SEE MY CONCEPT MAP)
On March 17, 1982 I graduated as a
Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) with the hopes of going back to school and
getting my Registered Nurse’s (RN) degree someday. Well, as you can imagine, that “someday”
never came. Instead I took a path (or
perhaps better stated, “many paths”), that lead me to an amazing life of places,
people and events that I do not regret for one moment.
Except to take about a year off when my
son was born in 1986, I have worked in nursing for the past 34 years in many
capacities. Along the way I grew rather
boarded with nursing so when my son was old enough, instead of getting my RN as
I had always planned, I went back to school and in 1994 became a licensed
massage therapist. What a wonderful
experience that was! It was a dream come
true to have my own business and do something that I loved. I continued working agency nursing during
this time so that I could pick up shifts if I needed extra money, and to keep
my license current.
I then started working for the VA
where I spent 10 years as the team nurse, and then a nurse case manager for their intensive outpatient
psychiatric program. I also taught
classes in the mental health clinic on a variety of subjects such as Post
Traumatic Stress Disorder Symptom Management, and Mindfulness and
Depression. But again, I was ready for a
change so the next year and a half, I spent as the Equal Employment Opportunity
Specialist and Minority Veterans Program Coordinator. In these jobs I dealt with a wide variety of
things such as Reasonable Accommodations (employees with disabilities),
harassment in the workplace, and helping minority Veterans maneuver the VA
system. This experience is what planted
the seed for me to go back to school and do something other than nursing.
I started Boise State University a year
ago with the intention of getting my RN.
I wasn’t interested in being a nurse per say, but I do want a bachelor’s
degree with the possibility of getting a masters degree. Last summer I changed my major to
Multidisciplinary Studies which is a better fit for me. I love this degree because I get to design my
own curriculum, which now includes certificates in Leadership and Dispute
Resolution. For fun, I like to spend
time with my large extended family, and especially my adult son. I also ride a Ducati Monster 696 motorcycle,
and dance the yearly Thriller dance at Halloween with a group of fun
people.
I had never done a concept map
electronically before, so I checked out all of the cites provided in Black
Board. I chose Spicynodes because they
are free, but also because I like that their company is promoting education and
learning opportunities around the world.
I then looked for a style that would fit what I thought I wanted to
do. I liked the concept of multiple
layered bubbles. I am a visual/audio
learner so I found a U Tube site that showed and talked about how to use this system,
and that made it easier for me to understand and implement what I had learned. Now that I know how to create a map with
Spicynodes, I plan to use it in the future for other class and work
assignments.
My biggest challenge is that I have so many
life experiences that I could have literally had dozens of bubbles. So, my first step was to narrow down and
chose those things that are most meaningful and important in my life. My first insight was to see, in simple
layout, what is most important to
me: My family, school, professional
life, and fun. My second insight was to
realize that I’m just not having that much fun these days. I attribute this to my time in school and
study. Because I want to do well in
school and graduate, I don’t want to change that balance at this point in my
life, but I look forward to the day when I can add more fun back into my life.
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