Brian: Breaking Stereotypes

Think Piece: What are you planning on doing after high school?

Leaving High School
During my senior year of high school at Neuqua Valley, I thought I had everything figured out. I believed that I knew my true identity and what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I had this structured plan of where I was going to college, what my intended major would be, where I would live... the list goes on.

While applying to colleges I often had internal battles with myself concerning what I should major in: nursing. I was often told, "Male nurses are viewed a certain way in society." Nursing, though, became the most practical career choice for me because of its stability and its caring nature to those who are in need. My past experiences told me that I have surpassed essentially everything in the book… except college.

Transitioning
Now that I am a second semester freshman nursing major at Millikin University, my goals have slightly changed. I realized that I want to travel to third world countries and help improve their health care, to save lives, and to make a change. As an aspiring nurse, I want to put a smile on every single face of my patients because that would tell me I’m doing something right. I would also like to break the stereotype about being a male in a predominantly female occupation.

Male nurses are often thought of being people who are presumably gay or people who are emotionless robots. In all entirety, it is highly immoral to make assumptions of others because of everybody is different. As you can see, social justice/equality and embracing the individuals are important ideologies that I’d like to follow as I continue to mature.

Final Thoughts
I plan on working in a hospital for a few years somewhere in Chicago, hopefully as a pediatric or ICU nurse. After that, I look forward to completing my master’s degree or advanced practiced nurse program at Loyola University in Chicago. Regardless of where I end up in life, I hope to make a positive impact on others in as many ways possible.

~ Brian David, middle school class of 2010, high school class of 2014
Twitter: @DavidToTheBrian