Hello Readers! My name is Macie Stanford, I am 17 years old, and I currently live in Montgomery, Alabama. I will be starting my first year of college this fall at Auburn University in Montgomery, where I will be studying to become a nurse. The more I think about the experiences this career will give me the more excited I become, but I have not always wanted to be a nurse. At the age of five, I wanted to be a mermaid. I wanted to swim with the sea turtles and grow a huge tail. To this day I still have a love for swimming and would never turn down a trip to the beach. At the age of seven, I was told mermaids were not real by my annoying brother and my dreams were crushed for the first time. Between the ages of ten and thirteen, I had developed a love for music and the art of performance. I had been a part of the band in middle school and learned to play my first instrument; the Alto Saxophone. I then went on to get accepted into a performing arts magnet high school where I was apart of the Choral Music Department. It was at this age I dreamed of attending Julliard and becoming a musician. At the age of fourteen, my mother died of a heart attack due to an overdose of anti-depression pills. My sisters were nine. My mother took care of us and my father always worked late so not only did I lose my mom, I became one. I, of course, love my sisters more than life but I did have to give up certain high school experiences to make sure they were taken care of. I also was unable to get a part-time job. This took away my chances of going to Julliard or anywhere out of Alabama. From 15 to now, I have developed a passion for helping others heal. My mother's overdose could have easily been avoided had a nurse or doctor paid closer attention so I have dedicated my career to being an overachieving nurse and do my best to prevent what happened to my mom from happening to anyone else. I look forward to pursuing this career and experiencing everything life has to offer.