The news these days is often depressing at worst and frustrating at best. It’s easy to get caught up in the spin cycle and let it get us down. Never fear… The News Blender has you covered. Once a week, we feature Something Good and, in return, all you have to do is tell us something good that has happened to you this week, something you are thankful for, a joke, a cute animal story, an inspiring tale of heroics, a Random Act of Kindness… SOMETHING good.
This week’s Something Good is perseverance.
Jaines Andrades, daughter to Puerto Rican parents, wants to inspire others with her decade-long story of perseverance and hard work.
The Springfield, Massachusetts resident originally wanted to be a lawyer but got discouraged once she reached high school. Jaines told MassLive, “As I got older and approached graduation I just didn’t see how a little girl like me could ever become a lawyer. I didn’t see it as something that was possible for me, so I got discouraged from the idea.”
Her career path became clear when she accompanied her mom to the doctor. A nurse at the office struck up a conversation with Jaines and encouraged her to go into nursing.
After a year in community college, Jaines transferred to Elms College to get her nursing degree and applied for a job at the Environmental Services Department at Baystate Medical Center. She was hired on as a custodian, first at the urgent care facility and eventually in the surgery department, and hoped to eventually work as a nurse there. It was a job that allowed her to be close to nurses and further piqued her interest in the field.
After a lot of hard work, five long years later, her dream came true and she was hired on as a registered nurse in the acute care unit, working with patients with heart failure. But her journey was not over.
Two weeks ago, after a lot more hard work and an additional five long years later, Jaines became a nurse practitioner in the Trauma Surgery Department at Baystate.
She commemorated her new job with a photo on Facebook that showed her career path at Baystate via work badges: her Environmental Services badge, her RN badge, and, finally, her nurse practitioner badge.
Jaines hopes her story will encourage people to reach for their dreams, saying, “I hope that people will understand that you can do it, that you can achieve what you want, not even academically or professionally, but in your life.” She continued, “Your life is what you make it, and, if you’re working towards your dreams and you believe in yourself and you believe in your dream, it doesn’t matter if the path isn’t perfect. Even if there are hardships and struggles along the way, it doesn’t discount the value of your achievement.”
Perseverance is definitely Something Good and everyone who reads Jaines’ story can’t help but be inspired by her hard work. Now it’s your turn… Tell me something good!
