Authored by Jackson Stanley
She shifted her stance from one side to the other while her hands delicately sat on her lap. A shy smile came over her face as she talked about her overflowing passion for the caring of others. Her delicate features have a burning fire of passion hidden inside. Megan Foxx is a senior at Oliver Ames and an aspiring nurse in the pediatric field. She has the ability to recognize suffering and mend it without first thought for her own needs. This is the compassion and undying thoughtfulness that makes Megan a perfect candidate for her dream job- to be a pediatric nurse.
“I think what has helped me the most is my ability to evaluate a person before I get to actually know them. That was something high school taught me. Verify before trust,” she said.
Megan feels as though you need the qualities of compassion, knowledge, and wisdom, as well as resilience.“Without it (the qualities) I wouldn’t be able to tell the kids when they’re wrong.”
All these things are important in order to be a good caretaker, but what is even more important is the ability to recognize how people are going to respond to certain actions or instances before they even happen.
“I think that you have to emotionally connect with the people you are caring for. It important to know where the person is at that moment,” she explained.
Her first experience with caring for young people was when she started babysitting for neighbors. At the age of 12, she needed to contemplate how to feed, clean and manage children while she was somewhat young herself.
“I was taking care of these children and I just knew,” she said. “There is something special about that.”
Megan likes to read medical journals and explore the scientific component of life. She feels as though that personal education is just as nurturing as caring for others. She goes to the library and often goes to the school’s website in order to get access to materials about medical discoveries or medical exhibitions. She talked to her pediatrician about what it took to become a nurse and what the college experience would be like in order to succeed in nursing. Megan especially loves to talk about the extraordinary human body and its resilience.
“We’re all so adaptable, it’s kind of amazing if you ask me. I wonder sometimes how we can bounce back after something happens to us. We really are amazing animals…It’s the science component that I love,” she exclaimed. “I love biology and anatomy…It’s so interesting to me.”
Megan grew up with an older brother in a quiet suburban town in a fairly comfortable environment. Society was good to her. But although she was born into this American stability, she was able to see through the suburban mirage in order to have compassion for people of different backgrounds.
“High school hardened me,” she exclaimed. “I think I was soft before, but I think I’ve changed for the better…It made me more successful and better at social interaction. I faced the harsh reality of friendships and just life in general.”
There is something very special about the way she saw her experience. She looked down at the ground and smiled. We both sat there while she contemplated what to say next. It was a moment of serenity where she was able to reflect.
“I think that I was born to help people,” she said softly, “but sometimes I feel like I need to take a step back and take care of myself.”
A solemn mood fell over the conversation. We sat across from each other and stared at the floor. The grandiose image of being a nurse seemed to retract like waves upon jagged rocks. For a simple instant we knew the reality of what it means to be in someone’s position like Megan. It is often tiring to have your waking moments consumed by the needs for others even when there is no explicit need.
“I know it’s weird,” she said after a while. “I know that it’s something I cannot control, but I wouldn’t give it up for the world.”