I was at a wedding reception last December, so less than a month ago, when someone asked me where I worked. Usually, I get asked what I do for a living. It's easy to say "I have a degree in Nursing". But this woman asked where I worked. I simply said I don't work. She didn't believe me. She asked if I was being truthful.  Considering I don't know her very well and primarily know her from the church, I don't know why she would think that I'm lying. But I quickly turned things around to ask her where she worked. And was asking more questions when the couple came in and so I stopped.  The question about what to say when people ask what you do for a living is something I've seen asked on the FIRE subreddits. So here  is my take on it.  First of all, I try not to talk about work. I think some people ask this question just to make conversation and in some cases, it's easy to say "I have a degree in Nursing". That tends to move the conversa...

 The last month of 2024 was busy. I wanted to finish up work around the house. I wanted to get other things done. And I had events to attend. I was at a wedding last month when someone asked where I worked. I simply said I didn't. They thought I was lying. I simply turned it around to ask them where they worked and tried to ask more questions about what they did but the couple came in.  That said, I thought I would've possibly FIRE'd this year or next year. Instead, I felt the call to leave in the Fall of 2023. I am grateful to God for getting me through the year. To be honest, leaving seems scary. Even if the numbers look like they would work, it's not easy to leave. For me, I was afraid I wouldn't have income coming in. I was wrong. I needed to trust God because he more than sustained me throughout the year. It took me about 6 months to leave because I wanted to be sure in the beginning and then I got greedy and wanted to use up benefits. I wouldn't advice tha...

In reflecting on my career, I'm reminded of something I heard a lot of as a student: start in Med-Surg. I got lots of reasons. In hindsight, It would've been better to do the thinking myself regarding what I wanted instead of listening to those telling me how it is supposed to go.  Do You Have to start in Med-Surg as a new graduate nurse? No. That is my opinion after working in different specialties of nursing. It is not a bad idea to start in medical-surgical nursing but it is not a requirement or an absolute necessity. If you get the opportunity to work in a specialty you would like to end up in, please go ahead and take that opportunity. Your body will thank you later.  When I was graduating from college, a professor I admired told me to start in med-surg. And back then, it wasn't uncommon to here people say "start in med/surg". One of the reasons I sort of recall was so you can learn the basics of nursing and what not. Another rationale was that because you ar...