Take this job and shove it

Yesterday I finally quit my job after 5 long grueling years. I walked into the hotel, very nervous about what I was about to do. I wasn't nervous about quitting. I've wanted to quit for the longest time. I was more nervous about what the future holds.

I'm leaving the hospitality industry to head into the medical field. While I'm going to be teching for a little over a year while I finish nursing school, I'm nervous as hell about what that entails. With this step I realize that I am closer to having someone's life in my own hands. I am confident that I will do fine, but it's the unknown that makes me nervous. In the past semester and a half, I've had pretty good reactions from all of my patients, so I know I'm doing something right.

I'm really excited to not have to work every special event or Saturday night in the French Quarter. I think that if I had stayed there a month longer, I'd have gotten "I'm college educated. Treat me with respect." tattooed on my forehead. I have taken more abuse than I have cared to working in a hotel. While I'm college educated, I have not nearly gotten the respect I deserve as a woman. I have become very numb to things and nothing really shocks me anymore (except for my patient this past week!).

In ways I think working with the general, asshole public has prepared me for nursing in ways that I wouldn't get elsewhere. I now have the ability to calm an erratic person down and turn an asshole into a sweetheart. And if you didn't know, these are the things that make great nurses.

Nursing benefits aside, I'm just so happy that now I can have a life again. In the past two years, I have been confined to school, work, sleep and study. Working fewer days and more hours will hopefully allow for me to do more of what I want, when I want. In all I think I'll have more time to relax and not bring the stress from work home with me.

In the end, I would NOT recommend working in a hotel to anyone. If you like drama, working every holiday and special event, then it is the place for you. Otherwise, I'd find somewhere else to work.