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One of my personal heroes came into my life in the most unexpected of ways. I have been working as a nursing assistant at a local hospital while going to school full-time to become a registered nurse. When I started my job over a year ago, I was brand-new to the nursing field and completely inexperienced. I work on the telemetry unit, which tends to be fast paced and quite busy with activity. The last year has been full of ups and downs for me, as I have navigated my way along this path I have chosen for myself. The ups tend to make up for the downs, especially when it involves an encounter with an amazing, memorable patient. One such patient for me is Mrs. Smith, whom I met last August when she was a patient on our unit.

Mrs. Smith was a retired nurse and she lived alone. She had been discharged from the hospital for several hours, but she had no ride home and no money for a cab. My charge nurse was going to offer Mrs. Smith a ride home, but that would mean waiting at the hospital for a few more hours. Since I was nearing the end of my shift, I offered to take Mrs. Smith home.

On the drive to Mrs. Smith's house, we had much to talk about in regards to nursing. It struck me quite fitting that she was a retired nurse and I was just embarking on my nursing career. At the time, I was still in the process of preparing for entrance exams and had not yet been accepted into a nursing program. "You'll make a wonderful nurse, I just know it," she said, as I pulled up in front of her home. We parted with a hug and I made sure she got into her house before I drove away.

Life went on as usual and, that fall, I began the testing process for entrance into a local nursing program. Mrs. Smith had slipped from my mind as more pressing things demanded my attention. I was on a shift during the holiday season and had just completed my last entrance exam days before. It would be more than a month before I knew if I had been accepted. I was full of nerves and doubt, even questioning if I was doing the right thing going into nursing. The director of my unit, and my boss, pulled me into her office and said she had something to show me. She pulled out a Christmas card addressed to the hospital, but made out to me and my charge nurse. It was signed from Mrs. Smith. On the Christmas card she wrote that I would make a wonderful nurse. Immediately, my spirits were lifted . I felt my nerves calm and my self-doubting quiet down. I felt a peace within as I thought of Mrs. Smith and all of the

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