Chimney Tops ..take one.

The Smoky Mountains! If heaven could manifest on Earth, this is where it would happen! Swear!

I'm a Georgia girl - born, bred, and raised a Dawg. But Tennessee is where the heart's at! From the mountains to the Southern atmosphere, this is where I choose to be - always. If there's an opportunity for that to happen, I'm on it! Hands down. No questions asked. 

This weekend, Jonathan, Mandi and I ventured up to take a stab at the "Chimney Tops" trail. It was fun - it really was! But we did quite a few things wrong, which just means we'll have to do it again to get it right!

For starters, I worked two days before this adventure took place. Now remember I'm not only a nurse, but a critical care nurse. We're busy, lives depend on us, and there are rarely any breaks. So after two-three days, I'm exhausted, dehydrated, and in dire need of sleep. We also didn't prepare food and clothes until the night before (remember I didn't get home until well after 9 to start with). It was after 11 before we climbed into bed and we left home at 6. 

I was tired. dehydrated. and already out of shape.

I knew the hike would be strenuous - many people had said that online. What they failed to mention is that the entire two mile hike is completely, 100% uphill. No pauses. About a quarter into the hike, I began to feel funny - like my head hurt, and my head felt funny, and I began to get nauseous. This only progressed as we climbed. We made it about 3/4th up and I just couldn't go any further. I felt defeated, sick, and like I had let the team down. 

While the hike was unsuccessful, the three of us did have a good time. We saw amazing mountain-top views and finished out the day with brilliantly cooked apple fritters!

4.11.15
Great Smoky Mountains.

Until Next Time Chimney Tops,

V

Easter 2015.

Happy Easter, y'all!

Easter 2015
Hickory Grove Baptist Church
4.5.15

This morning, I had the great pleasure of listening to one of my oldest and dearest childhood friends preach. He preached of how unashamed Jesus was went he allowed men to beat Him, torture Him, mock Him, and nail Him to the cross to die. He wasn't ashamed of me. Let's repeat for emphasis, He was NOT ashamed of ME, Victoria Lynn White. Instead He allowed Himself to be kill and then won victory over death, for ME! 

Now let's think a little bit. How many times in my life have I kept my mouth shut because I didn't want to be embarrassed, or teased, or socially shunned because of my beliefs? I'm ashamed to say that the number is exponentially high. And if we'll all be honest, this is how we all behave from time to time. It's easy to say you're a Christian when you're sitting on a church pew. It's easy to declare you're a Christian when a religious holiday pops up. It's easy to stand up for our Savior when something goes right.
But.
What about those times when you're the only believer in the room? What about those moments when you're caught in the middle of a valley and people start to ask where your God is? What about those moments when you seem all alone and nothing is going as it should?

I'm here to tell you friends, even in those situations, God is still God! He is mighty and worthy to be praised! Better yet, even in those situations, He wouldn't have been ashamed of YOU! He wouldn't have been ashamed of ME! And even when we feel like He should just walk away because we've done X, Y, and probably Z .. He never leaves. He holds our hand. He holds us safely in His arms. He protects us. He never gives up on us! Why then, is it so hard for us to do this very same thing in return?

I urge each of you to take this to heart, to converse with God, to stand up for God, to allow others to know what He's doing and done for you, to work for a deeper relationship with God! After all, He's already done so much for each of us.

Peace and Love Y'all,

V

Let's catch up, shall we?!

Happy Spring, darlings! Can y'all believe it's already springtime?! 2015 is 25% gone ...already! And I hope you all are well on your way to making this year the best to date! Many have asked of my whereabouts the past few weeks, and to answer the questions broadly, I've been living. 

I accepted a position last year with Emory Healthcare and began this adventure mid-February. There have most definitely been some challenges to overcome as I embrace my new professional role, but I'm getting back into the rhythm and am slowly developing my own style of nursing. I'm very grateful and appreciative of the opportunity to "come into my own" with nurses that I already know and trust. I couldn't imagine doing this in a new environment and with new people; my anxiety just couldn't handle it!

HGBC youth group also adventured to the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus in late February. Many of the younger children were able to participate and their excitement was priceless. Thurston's favorite part was the motorcycles, Alena loved the elephants, Wyatt talked about the lions for days and my mama loved the acrobats.

I've had a wonderful few months! I've done things I never thought I would've had the courage and strength to do before. Some things turned out well and others ..well, not so much. But for the first time in a my twenty-three years, I feel free! I feel I can do whatever I want, for as long as I want, whenever I want. Now, obviously there are limits. I have a job that comes with a schedule. I also don't have millions of dollars in savings and my salary isn't so impressive. But, I still feel in charge of myself and in control of who I am, where my life is going, and the people involved in it. 

Cheers, to living life!
V

Reynold's Nature Preserve

Happy Valentines Day, y'all!

It's been a passion of mine for quite some time now to get into hiking and trail walking. I love the mountains (no surprise there!) and the views from the top are spectacular. However, I'm out of shape and overweight (again, no surprises there) and have a lot of anxiety about my abilities to make it up the side of a mountain or down waterfalls. But. You cannot get anywhere without trying, or worse, never starting.

So today, on the day that is all about passions and love, I started. Nothing major, obviously, because A) it's freezing and B) I only had a few hours. But, I went and wandered around and loved every single minute about it.

Reynold's Nature Preserve

The trails are about 45 minutes from my apartment and honestly, I wouldn't drive it to walk these trails all the time. Today I wanted a trip of some sort, to get out of my apartment, and to just ..go. As I mentioned earlier, I'm really overweight and out of shape, but I found these trails to be extremely easy. The outer perimeter trail is about 1.5 miles and the two inner trails about 1 mile each. There's a couple very slight inclines, but nothing really crazy unless you're trail running. I'm sure the park is gorgeous in the spring, summer, and fall, but everything is ridiculously barren right now due to the time of year.

The trails are well maintained and easy to walk. However, the trails aren't clearly marked and I managed to get lost a few times. The park was relaxing though and very much needed for my own sanity. The cold air was exhilarating! I'm most definitely not a city girl, and I need more dirt in my life.

Peace and Love Y'all,

V

Y'all! I'm a RN!

75 questions.

50 minutes.

2 days feeling like the world would surely end.

but.

I PASSED, y'all!!

Victoria White, MSN, RN ..that's one hell of a ring!

The NCLEX was extremely difficult; much harder than I expected. The weird part is that the questions themselves weren't particularly hard. The answer choices, however, were difficult; none of the choices were blatently wrong or right. I was able to narrow down most of the questions to two choices and from there, an educated guess followed. I only knew that I had answered about five questions right and I was certain, beyond certain, I had failed.

To make matters worse, I learned that Pearson Vue has a "trick" to find out if you had passed early. Allegedly, if you passed the test, it wouldn't allow you to register and pay to take the exam again. In pure desperation, I attempted this trick the day I took the exam. And it failed. And then I cried. In 48 hours, I was able to purchase my results early and learned that I passed! I had never felt so relieved in all my life!

Stages of NCLEX - before the exam, after, and Once I found out I passed!

I'd like to personally thank every single person that said a prayer in my name. They were definitely heard and greatly appreciated. I'm so excited to be starting this next chapter of my life and moving on to the future that's before me! I want adventure, and excitement, and all the feels that is this beautiful life. I want to see the world, experience greatness, and live fearlessly.

Dear life, I'm coming for you!

Peace and Love Y'all,

V

Twas the night before the NCLEX

Twas the night before the NCLEX .. and I'm a hot mess!

To say I'm nervous would be an understatement. I've said it before, and I'll say it again, the mere fact that everything I've ever worked toward comes down to passing this one exam is extremely nerve wracking and the cause of great panic.

I'm confident in what I know. I know how to prioritize patients. I know how to delegate. I know how to safely care for emergent situations. These things, I know!
I'm not so confident in my knowledge of medications. I can usually pick out side effects and things to monitor based on patient's diagnosis, but general knowledge, no go! I'm uncertain of mother/baby material. I feel I know enough to get by if something went wrong, but this is definitely not my specialty.

With all of this said, I'm nervous. I'm scared that I didn't study enough, worried that I didn't retain enough information during school, and anxious about the possibility of losing my job if I don't pass.

I'm not so sure my nerves can handle all this! Prayers would greatly be appreciated!

Peace and Love Y'all,

V

Well Hello There February

Um… Well, Goodbye January. 

Is it just me, or did the year just start yesterday? This is terribly insane and I'm embarrassed to say that I've accomplished diddly-squat over the past 31 days. Actually, that's not entirely true. While I haven't done as much as I promised or began some things I wanted, all my needs have been met. 

At the first of the year, a very short and fast 31 days ago, I made seven goals for 2015 (post). At the close of each month, my plan is revisit these seven goals - give an update or lack thereof, give important and life changing details, etc.

Get close to God.
Since 2012, God and I have been on the rocks. I was so angry with God that I didn't want anything to do with Him or church or anything else really. In retrospect, it's funny that this was my mindset because He is legit the only one who could have and eventually did save me - from my grief, from my sorrow, and ultimately from myself. 2014 was a year like no other. I saw things and experienced things that changed my life and perspective. 2014 was the year I came crawling back to God. 2014 was the year I knew I needed Him. 2015, however, is the year I want to get to know Him. I was saved at a young age and I believe without one shadow of doubt that God saved my soul on March 30, 2003. No doubt - see ya in heaven! But in the almost thirteen years since that I night, I've never truly studied His word, learned His desires for my life, or took the time to just talk with Him. Shame on me! This man died for me and I can't even "check in" once a day! This year, I'm bound and determined to change that by reading the Bible each day and praying more. It doesn't seem like a lot, but A) we all have to start somewhere and B) it has actually been quite challenging.
This month, I've managed to pray more than I have in a long time. Could I pray more? Absolutely! But I'm happy with the progress I've made. I've also read each day - some days more than others, but the point is, I'm doing it! Effort leads to progress and perseverance leads to habits.

Be patient. Trust God and His timing. Put faith in His hands that things will work out.
This has been extremely more challenging that I had originally thought. I'm a huge control-freak, which isn't something that can just be shut off. I've found myself questioning and doubting God's presence in my life. I'm trying, and will continue to try, but I'm not sure I'm getting anywhere.

Daily acts of kindness. Forgive quickly.
Forgiveness is something I struggle with more than I like to admit. Blame it on my controlling nature if you must, but I can hold a grudge like no other. It's most definitely a problem. I'm gaining some ground, or at least I think I am. The next step will be not acting like I'm still mad, i.e. communication!
Acts of kindness are going well. This month, a majority of these went to my mama - driving her around, reading menus for her, helping her plan church activities, etc. We've grown a lot closer this month and I love it!

Live simply.
This is something I've striving to be. I make less trips to the store and more "bulk" shopping trips. Planning is something I'm still working on.

Stress less.
…

Make healthier choices.
When I made this goal, I didn't intend for it to refer to clean eating or healthier food choices. While those are important, I definitely haven't reached any of those. This was about making better emotional decisions. Letting negative people out of my life. Not hanging onto people because I was lonely or felt I needed them. This was about living my life the way I wanted with the people I wanted in it - the people who make me smile and laugh continuously, the people who think about my feelings before making decisions, the people that include me.
So far, I've cut a lot of people out of my life. I let go of an ex-boyfriend ..and didn't go back. I went on a first date, and didn't call for a second. I'm more independent than I've felt in a long time. I feel more like me than I have since 2012. Let's all take a moment to praise God for that one!!

Write every day.
I honestly didn't think this would be a goal that I would struggle with, but it has proven to be that in my life. I write a lot. I doodle. I sing crazy lyrics no one will ever hear. I blog. I journal. But everyday? Not a chance. With the stress and time that has gone into NCLEX prep, writing has fallen to the wayside. I hope that once this terrible test is over, I'll have more time to dedicate to this goal. 
Maybe even try out this NaNoWriMo thing this spring? Ey, we'll see. (:

There we have it - the trials and triumphs of January 2015. February will consist of the NCLEX, a big girl job, and lots of new adventures. Bring it!

Cheers y'all,

V