Blessings of an Infidel

"I'm so glad god blesses you and not me, because I sure wouldn't want your life." - Adam Kincaid

I have to chuckle when I hear others speak of "gods good blessings" and how "god is faithful." I want so badly to say, gods blessing? Really? Are we assessing the same life? Because the way it looks from here, you are living a sad life. I wouldn't want your life. 

How about when these "lunatics" judge infidels much like myself saying "he is cursed." Really? Im cursed? Because from here, it looks like I'm doing just fine. I'm feeling just fine. I'm loving life, I am ambitious and making something of my life. I am living extraordinary! 

So, is it's "gods good grace" that you are an alcoholic, a drug addict, a racist, a swindler, a cheater or a hypocrite? So yes, I am glad god blesses you and not me, because I sure don't want your life. 

I guess my next point should be, how can you believe a "god" would actually bless someone with the attributes listed above? See, your not thinking! You can judge someone like myself if it makes you feel complete, but always know... You cannot hate someone for displaying intelligence over insanity.

So I have been sitting at home tonight playing video games and drinking an alcoholic drink. Not "drinks" but a drink. I haven't had the opportunity to sit down and enjoy video games since my short break in December. However, that is just a small price to pay for a bright future.

I had 3 finals this week and I made A's on all of them. Tonight I came home and wrote three nursing articles and came to the conclusion that I could actually take the rest of the night off. I have no class tomorrow and I do not have another final until Wednesday. If I had responsibilities in the morning or tests to be prepared for, I would not be relaxing and drinking, but for the first time in 4 months I have the chance to breathe. I deserve this. 

I don't hate my responsibilities, I actually love them and take pride in them. That's the beauty. I don't regret that I can't drink and party because i have to spend time late at night studying and learning or because I have an amazing daughter that I have to protect and in a emergency I must be alert. I don't hate my responsibilities. I am going to have an amazing job with amazing benefits near an amazing beach someday soon. I also love learning, it's an amazing thing.... You should try it.

Nursing school is probably one of the most difficult, but most rewarding things that I have ever done. ETSU has the most prestigious nursing school in Tennessee and one of the top nursing schools in the East. With an ANP program more prestigious than Harvard and Yale. 

I had to attend college for 2 years taking General Education courses. At ETSU, anything below a C+ is considered failing. Each semester 70 students out of thousands are selected to enter the nursing program. The semester that I entered, an overall 3.8 GPA was the cut off and I was lucky to be one of the chosen few. Achieving all A's and a couple of B's. 

You had to be extremely competitive to fight for a spot and it took more work than one could imagine, especially after being out of high school for 4 years, having a family and working full-time at Walmart for the majority of the time. 

I am also lucky to have all A's in nursing school, considering the enormous amount of pressure that is placed on the entering students. If you get below a 75 on specific tests, you fail the course. And if you fail more than one course, your out of the program.

There is less than a 60% pass rate in the first semester of nursing school at ETSU. That means the 70 students in my class will soon be eliminated to around 35 according to the current grade standings.

At first, I was left wondered if the failing students were just not intelligent, but that is far from the truth. I have a lot of compassion for even the students that fail out. First, they had to work their asses off to even get into the program. Second, the standards and the stress is extremely high. It takes a special kind of integrity to be willing to study non-stop for an A. However, even the last of the nursing students have more intelligence and integrity in their pinky than the average nitwit that isn't doing anything with their life. I have been lucky in that I have worked hard, but also surpassed all expectations for each course and I am excited to continue my journey in the fall.

You see, there's too many people living their life without a purpose. They have no goals, they have no meaning, they have no ambition, they don't want to change the world or make it better. These people just breathe, they show no signs of life, no signs of intelligence, they just breathe. They are essentially an empty bag of air. They are just like an empty pair of lungs, and we all know that lungs do not function too well without a heart or a brain.

I know I sound arrogant and I will gladly accept that title. But nobody is doing you a favor by letting you think that you are actually living your life. Because your not. 

I am not saying that you have to be rich, or go to college. Don't get me wrong. But you must display intelligence and have goals. You must display integrity and ambition. You must seek after truth and run from fallacies. You must be REAL and honest. You must be unique and courageous. Esteem beauty and art over insanity. You must want to change and better your world. You must run from discrimination and injustice. You must live extraordinary (I love that.... "live extraordinary").