After all the tears last Friday, I have come to the realization that I am not a nursing student anymore. What a weird feeling! This has been my identity for the past four years and, all of a sudden, I am without that title. I wouldn't want to stay behind for another four years or anything, but I will miss nursing school. What am I going to do for the next four weeks? It's time for me to really start my job search.

Things have not been going exactly how I've planned in the job category. I have always pictured myself working in Boston in one of the big teaching hospitals. But recently, we have been deterred from Boston. Apparently there is a hiring freeze in the Boston area for new graduate nurses. Isn't that exactly what a nursing student wants to hear? Talk about discouraging. I'm still sending my resume and applications to these places, but I have to keep an open mind that I may not be working there. My plan is to apply everywhere and anywhere and take what I can. I have a couple of important people pulling for me in one hospital where I would love to work. I'm not going to put all my eggs in one basket, though.

I actually applied to one hospital in Texas and two in California. I love warm weather and I think I could use a change, so who knows? I've also been going to health career fairs around my area. I printed up a bunch of my resumes and bought a new suit with the hopes of finding something. It can't hurt to get my face out there.

Back in my current reality, I just passed in my last nursing paper ever. What a great feeling! The paper itself was not hard to write, but the idea that this is the end made it a little difficult. There wasn't any research or anything; it was just reflection on the past four years.

At the end, I had to explain my personal nursing philosophy, which was a little overwhelming. This is something that I had to think about for a while. This is what defines the type of nurse I am going to be. I came out with one that I was pretty proud of that encompasses everything I hopefully will be able to give to patients.

Don't worry, though. I am finding some time for a little bit of fun in my last few weeks. Senior Week is fast approaching! It's the week before graduation, and I can't wait. We are going to Mohegan Sun (a casino in Connecticut) for some gambling, on a Boston boat cruise, to a masquerade ball, for a night out in Boston, and to Six Flags, a giant amusement park. It is going to be a real good time! It's nice to have something to look forward to because I have been flipping out about these stupid jobs!

One final note for today: The nurse that I worked with in my preceptorship gave me a card with this quote by Henry David Thoreau, "Go confidently in the direction of your dreams, live the life you've imagined." That is exactly what I plan on doing! 

Editor's note: Chelsea is a senior nursing student at small liberal arts college 20 miles outside of Boston. Her column "Last Semester" appears weekly, exclusively on StressedOutNurses.com.