Only the beginning...

I woke up this morning to attend the last few days that I have with Kaplan to review for my upcoming NCLEX-RN test. As I drove to my class, it finally truly hit me, my life is about to begin. Everything is coming at me like a storm, and I'm not really sure how to take it all in.

I'm engaged and planning for my wedding. I've only been allowed to start planning for my wedding this past week. Francis and my parents made me promise that I wouldn't start to plan for our wedding until I graduated and since I just finished school, here I am. It's every girl's dream to get married and although it's exciting, it's stressful at the same time. Who will be my maid of honor? Bridesmaids? Will we have enough money? When am I supposed to send invitiations? Am I supposed to send out engagement announcements? What month can I choose without worrying about the weather? And the list of questions goes on. I'm only on my first week of truly planning so I'm sure that I will find the answers soon enough, but nonetheless I am stressed and will likely continue to be until the day I say "I do."

I'm about to be an RN. Yes I have already been an LVN for 5 years but the duties are so different. I'm responsible for everything that goes on with my patient whether it be going to the bathroom or catching warning signs of a worsening condition. I'm responsible for it all. Knowing that a person's life is in your hands is completely rewarding but at the same time a little scary. I've never trusted my nursing skills so much before but at the same time, I still have so much to learn. I'm sure I will look back on this and laugh at how unexperienced I once was.

I'm about to start a business. For the past few years a few of my friends and I have been in the process of starting a business and we are only a few weeks from D day. We're adding the final touches to our handbooks, tidying up the office, and so excited to take on this next obstacle. When I think about that day I start to get so nervous because I know that many of the questions they ask will eventually trickle down to me and I need to know the answers. Hopefully all of our hard work will soon pay off.

I'm getting married! Yes I know, I mentioned it already, but when I delve deeper into this I realize that Francis and I are ready. Not in the sense that we have everything planned out, or that we know exactly what we are getting ourselves into, but rather that we haven't rushed this moment. We've been friends for 10 years, 3 of those being in a relationship. We've fought like any normal couple out there and at the end of the day still choose to be with each other. I've questioned many things about our relationship but one thought remains throughout, I want to be with him for the rest of my life.

And this is where our story begins...

Annabelle