00:18
Thank you so much for coming on to the podcast, astronaut's
00:22
I'm personally so stoked that you're here.
00:24
Do you want to give yourself like a little introduction?
00:26
Tell people who you are where they can find you on social media
00:29
before we get started.
00:31
Thank you for having me first and foremost, I'm honored, you
00:34
know, my name is Penny Tovar.
00:36
Um I'm a content creator on youtube, Instagram and tiktok
00:40
It's pretty much just Penny Tova on all of them and I'm also
00:44
Yeah, I'm a bachelor's registered nurse.
00:45
I work in inpatient rehabilitation.
00:47
I'm a local hospital and I work for DM.
00:49
Um And what was the other questions?
00:52
I just be going off sometimes you answered them introducing
00:55
yourself where people can find you and we'll get all into the
00:57
nitty gritty right now.
00:58
But I just want a fan girl a little bit because I've been following
01:02
you on social media for actually like a couple of good years
01:06
I was telling you a little bit earlier but I found you actually
01:09
Like all of your videos, the ones with your sisters, you doing
01:12
thrift halls or just like, you just being like, super, super
01:17
I found you there and I've just been a fan and been following
01:20
So this is actually really exciting for me to have you on the
01:23
And I'm excited to share with everyone your story and kind
01:27
of like how you got to becoming a registered nurse.
01:30
I'd love to talk about kind of like going back to your childhood
01:34
and like how you were like in school and how you even really
01:38
became interested in becoming a nurse.
01:41
I'm about to have a because you're gassing me up so much.
01:43
I'm like, of course I'm here.
01:47
I'm not going to far.
01:48
But um yeah, so I was born in East L A.
01:52
Um but when I was five years old, my parents left because we
01:54
were in the bro, like it was bad.
01:56
So my aunt was uh in Vancouver Washington and called us over
02:00
and was like, hey, you guys should move here.
02:01
So I grew up in the Pacific Northwest.
02:03
I literally live like 10 minutes from Portland, Oregon because
02:06
if I say Vancouver Washington, everyone's like, what the
02:08
heck is a Vancouver Washington?
02:10
They're like, which I've been there too and it's way better
02:14
So my God, that makes sense.
02:15
But yeah, um As I'm closer to Portland, Oregon, I've been in
02:18
the PNW for like 21 years now.
02:21
It has a very special place in my heart.
02:22
So I love being here.
02:25
My mother is from, my mom is from Michoacan.
02:29
Um and in terms of education, my mom and dad had pretty hard
02:34
So my mom had to stop in second grade.
02:37
She was an orphan and she had to work and then my dad, I believe
02:41
he moved out and started working at 14 years old.
02:44
So you know that they had hard lives.
02:46
Um and in terms of education, I'm first generation high school
02:51
school, college and university graduate in my family.
02:57
I really appreciate it.
02:58
But honestly, I couldn't have done it on my own for real because
03:01
like growing up when I was in high school, like, I don't know
03:05
what it is about high school man, like you're already naturally
03:07
so insecure, you know what I mean?
03:09
Like I was insecure, I felt like my GPA wasn't the best.
03:13
I think it was like a 2.0 or something like that or like a 2.3
03:15
What kind of student were you in high school?
03:17
The funny thing is I tried way harder in middle school but when
03:20
I went into high school, like not to be inappropriate or anything
03:25
but like, I was fine.
03:27
It was like a stoner and I didn't try, I really didn't I didn't
03:33
try that hard in school and like I was, it was way too up my butt
03:38
of like, being, oh, I'm trying to be cool or whatever, which
03:40
is like the lamest thing to do.
03:42
But, um, yeah, I didn't really try that hard.
03:44
It wasn't until, um, I was in sophomore year and that's when
03:48
it was kind of like settling in of like, bro, I'm going to graduate
03:53
Like, what am I going to do after I graduate?
03:55
Like I, I had zero idea.
03:57
Um And then my friend Carla, shout out to Carla Garnica.
04:01
Like she honestly, she changed my life.
04:03
She really did, she played a pivotal role in my life.
04:06
Um But, you know, I was at the Mexican table and we were all hanging
04:09
out and then Carla comes up to the table and goes guys.
04:13
Do you guys want to apply to Skill Center with me?
04:15
And I don't even know what that was, but it's a tech program
04:19
So like they have a lot of different things.
04:20
They have like aviation, hotel Management, um dental assistant
04:24
So it's really cool.
04:25
It's like a really, it's a tech institute specializing in
04:28
Have you heard of I TT Tech?
04:31
It was a technical institute where it's like more hands on
04:33
skills to get a certificate.
04:35
But for high schoolers.
04:36
So that way when you graduate, you have some sort of certification
04:38
and something, right?
04:40
So, she was like, let's do Skill Center.
04:43
So I was like, anyways.
04:45
And then, like, uh, my friend Jennifer and Michael, they were
04:48
like, ok, I'll apply and me being the loser that I was like,
04:50
ok, they're playing.
04:51
So I'm gonna play too.
04:53
So, thank God I did, it changed my life.
04:55
It really, really did.
04:56
Um I applied with them.
04:57
Luckily I got accepted.
04:59
But um they give you the option, like which program do you wanna
05:03
They had the applied medical science program.
05:05
And my dad said, you know what?
05:06
I think you should do the, the nursing one.
05:09
Yeah, I think you should do that one.
05:10
And I said, OK, uh I'll do that one.
05:13
So I started the applied medical science program when I was
05:15
a junior and it changed my life.
05:19
I was learning like anatomy, physiology, biology, medical
05:23
terminology, um things like that and I fell in love.
05:26
I really fell in love with it and I was good at it.
05:30
Like there was something in me that put a fire under my, that
05:34
made me want to try for the first, I was going to say, what was
05:37
that pivotal moment where, you know, you were a little bit
05:40
of a stoner in the beginning of high school and then kind of
05:43
like, oh, ok, this is something that I really have to try in
05:48
Was that it where you were like, OK, I got to take this a little
05:52
I think it was the change of environment because the people
05:56
that I was hanging with before, that's what they were doing
05:58
Like I said, I was very like, going with the flow and that's
06:02
why I had like a weak spine, you know what I mean?
06:04
So, whatever they were doing, that's what they were doing
06:05
But I completely cut those people out of my life and it wasn't
06:08
so much like a harsh, like, oh, I'm not talking to you anymore
06:11
But it's like, once I went to the Tech institute, the skills
06:14
center, like, my friend group naturally changed and just
06:17
to see other kids be so motivated and supportive of each other
06:22
it was much more intimate, much more supportive.
06:24
The class was like, less than 20 kids.
06:27
So, which helped a lot, like, a lot of attention then probably
06:30
from all your teachers.
06:32
If you ever struggled in anything, I'm sure you could have
06:34
easily gone to them and be, like, ah, I need help in this.
06:38
It just automatically took me from a place where I felt like
06:42
a little lost fish in the sea, like a little, you know, I was
06:46
like, just keep swimming or whatever.
06:48
But, like, I went to the small classroom setting that, I don't
06:53
know, I feel like, deep down I had this problem of, like, just
06:56
I definitely had middle child syndrome a million percent
07:00
I totally feel the same.
07:02
I'm a middle child and I know exactly what that feels like.
07:05
Um, my older brother actually did a similar program like that
07:08
Um, in high school it was a little bit different where it didn't
07:11
like, um, specialize in different areas, but it was like
07:16
a dual uh early college high school.
07:19
So he took college classes while taking high school classes
07:22
and that really prepped him for how hard college classes were
07:26
gonna be when he went to a four year university.
07:29
So, did you, do you think that also helped you, like in the future
07:33
with all of the rest of your education?
07:35
No, a million percent because the classes that we were doing
07:37
was giving me college credit.
07:40
So just, I think it was just like someone had plucked me out
07:44
of the bad environment that I was in and, and put me in a completely
07:47
different one, which I feel like it really did shift my mindset
07:50
which I think it is that it really proves that powerful point
07:53
of like, show me your friends and I'll show you who you are.
07:55
You know what I mean?
07:56
So, um, yeah, I just felt like a lot more seen, I felt a lot more
07:59
supported and I felt like for the first time.
08:02
I tried and I did try and I got a 4.0 on that program and I got voted
08:07
most likely to succeed.
08:08
And I literally cried.
08:09
I know it was like a little cheapy little certificate they
08:11
printed in the back room.
08:13
But like, for me, I mean, so much I finished the program right
08:17
And I graduated with my CN A and I told my teacher, I said, so
08:21
like, what do I do now?
08:22
Like, and she said, oh, you take these credits and you go to
08:25
Clark Community College and you go for the nursing program
08:28
That's where that was, that's the whole point of that uh little
08:31
tech program that to direct kids to the nursing program.
08:35
I was like, ok, I don't, I don't even know what nurses do.
08:37
I didn't know what nurses did.
08:38
I didn't know what nurses did.
08:39
I didn't know how it worked going in.
08:41
So blind, I've never met a nurse.
08:43
Like, you know what I mean?
08:44
It's funny because now that I have a lot of nursing friends
08:47
and a big nursing network.
08:49
Um A lot of them will say my mother was a nurse.
08:52
My aunt was a nurse.
08:53
My bro, like, I don't know my dad, he worked at a blue printing
08:57
My mom was a stay at home mom.
08:58
Like I don't know anybody in the medical field, you know what
09:02
So I really did go in blind I really honestly just went based
09:07
off of my love for anatomy and physiology.
09:10
Um So I was like, cool.
09:11
That's what I'll do.
09:12
I graduated from that program and I went straight to community
09:16
And uh there's two ways to become a nurse, you can do the long
09:20
way, which is doing two years of prerequisites.
09:23
So it's a whole entire year of anatomy and physiology, microbiology
09:26
chemistry, nutrition, um you know, things like that body
09:30
And then after you do prerequisites, you have to apply for
09:34
a nursing program to see if you get accepted.
09:36
Nursing is very competitive, very, very competitive.
09:39
Like it's ideal for you to have a GP over 3.8.
09:43
That's, that's ideal, that is competitive.
09:46
It's ideal for you to have that.
09:48
Um the most ideal is 4.0 But like if you want to be considered
09:52
at all, depending on the program, of course.
09:55
But for mine, it was over 3.8.
09:56
I did the two years of prerequisites.
09:58
I got a 4.0 in all of my prerequisites.
10:00
So I was able to hold a 4.0 for three years straight.
10:02
So I was like, I applied for the program and um I got accepted
10:08
and nursing school completely ruined my four point.
10:15
It's downhill from here.
10:17
So my first test I got ac and I was like, oh, no, what did I do?
10:21
What did I get myself into like, you know, I was like, uh but
10:25
nursing brain is just something that you have to learn.
10:28
You know, like the way that nursing brain works is like, there's
10:32
one, there's a few assessment pieces and now you have to create
10:35
the spider, spider web of like this means this and this means
10:38
that and this means this and if we do this, it could possibly
10:40
mean this, this, this, this, this, bro I'm the worst multitasker
10:44
Like even when my husband is talking to me and I'm doing dishes
10:47
I tell him like, what did you just say?
10:48
I don't even know what just came out of your mouth, bro.
10:50
Like you have to repeat yourself.
10:52
So it was just something that I had to work for.
10:54
Yeah, it was something that I had to practice and work for,
10:56
to develop a nursing brain.
10:58
I think that's a good point.
10:59
Everyone learns differently, right?
11:01
So it's like the textbook answer or the way that people learn
11:04
in classrooms may not fit every single person.
11:08
You know, I think everyone has that one experience where they're
11:11
like, oh my God, I just failed this test or I failed this course
11:16
or I failed this midterm.
11:18
Do I even continue moving forward?
11:22
You found a good way of like, ok, this is how I need to pivot.
11:25
This is the best way I learned.
11:27
I know that teachers don't really work for me, this works for
11:30
me and this is how I'm going to move forward.
11:33
Do you have any other advice for people who may feel dumb or
11:37
or even discouraged from having that one experience of failure
11:41
of like how to move forward and not let that one experience
11:45
hold them back for sure.
11:47
Like for me, my confidence was crushed and I was like, second
11:51
I felt like that little confused high school all over again
11:53
of like, oh my gosh, I'm dumb.
11:55
Like what am I doing here?
11:56
You know what I mean?
11:57
But I think eventually I had to just teach myself.
11:59
And I feel like this is very evident in my content too.
12:02
If you look at it over the years, I get a little bit more loosey
12:05
goosey and a little bit crazy.
12:06
But because it bled into my personal life of this is what I applied
12:11
I had to get over the fear of looking stupid.
12:14
I just had to get over it.
12:15
Like I had to get over the fear of looking stupid and looking
12:17
humiliated because guess what?
12:19
We're supposed to learn.
12:20
This is the best time to ask questions.
12:23
You know what I mean?
12:23
That's literally the teacher's job for you to ask questions
12:26
So I immediately became that annoying person in class that
12:30
So sometimes people would roll their eyes because I was like
12:32
asking questions every three minutes.
12:34
Like honestly, people will make fun of those people to ask
12:38
questions, you know, that they benefit from it too.
12:40
It's like they're also hearing because they're afraid to
12:43
because they're afraid to look stupid and afraid to ask questions
12:45
and you're that person asking questions.
12:47
So everyone benefits from it.
12:49
So I say the haters.
12:53
And I guess the way to get over that fear is understanding one
12:57
you're not stupid, ok?
12:58
That just means you learn differently and also understand
13:01
you're literally in an education system that's literally
13:04
their job to educate you.
13:06
And another thing is to ask what's the worst that can happen
13:10
from asking for a little extra help.
13:12
They're not going to be like, no, you shut up, get out of my school
13:14
They're not going to say that, bro, you know what I mean?
13:17
Most of the time they're going to be like, oh sure.
13:18
Yeah, let's figure something out what works for you.
13:20
You know what I mean?
13:21
Don't be afraid to ask, don't be afraid to put yourself out
13:24
there and look dumb.
13:25
You know what I mean?
13:26
So because to this day, like I literally my nurse friend, I
13:29
met up with her in Florida last month and I told we were having
13:33
a conversation and I was like, yeah, you know, like the Osteoclast
13:35
the Osteoblast and she looks at me, how the hell do you remember
13:39
And I'm like, cause I over ST so I did nursing and I just worked
13:43
really hard and it was, it was tough.
13:46
It was not like, oh you know, freaking lollipops and rainbows
13:50
and unicorns and stuff.
13:51
Yeah, because I remember watching your social media.
13:54
You did youtube videos all the time, especially with your
13:58
You got your dynamic is so fun.
14:00
Um But I remember you were studying nursing and then kind of
14:03
took that break that two years you said and then went back to
14:08
So tell me all about that and why you kind of chose to do social
14:12
media for a while and then go.
14:13
So it was never my intention to become a social media creator
14:16
That was never my desire or my goal or anything.
14:18
That was my husband's idea.
14:20
So for me, my path was I'm going to be a nurse and yeah, at the
14:23
end, you know, um when I graduated high school, um my hair turned
14:28
curly after puberty, it was straight all my life.
14:30
And when I, yeah, it's actually a lot more common than you think
14:33
The opposite happened to her.
14:34
She was born with curly hair, straight hair, right?
14:37
Yeah, it's more wavy but it's no longer like the super curly
14:40
like baby doll hair.
14:42
So yeah, after puberty, my hair got curly.
14:44
So through high school, I was trying to figure out how to take
14:46
So once I graduated high school, I was able to have my hair look
14:49
you know, nice and I liked it.
14:50
So every time I met somebody else with textured hair and I heard
14:53
them say my hair is ugly or frizzy.
14:54
And I'm like, no, it's not, it's not ugly or frizzy.
14:57
You just don't know how to take care of it.
14:58
So I would literally talk to strangers about it like you need
15:01
to try this shampoo girl like you need to try this, this conditioner
15:04
like you're in jail, that's what's been causing you problems
15:06
because it's got out dr alcohol, you know, isle alcohol, you
15:09
want, you want to avoid that.
15:11
So my husband said, you know, you're really passionate about
15:14
Like you should make a youtube channel.
15:15
And I was like, anyways, I was like, that's a horrible idea
15:20
Um And I was like, I don't even know how to film a video.
15:23
I don't know how to edit.
15:24
I don't even know how to post and he did because he had helped
15:27
a friend previously with his youtube channel.
15:29
So Martin was like, yeah, I'll help you.
15:31
So we set up the camera in the bedroom with the green wall and
15:35
that was at my parents' house and then um I told him get out,
15:39
I don't, I don't want you to like this is I'm shy, I'm shy.
15:42
I'm like, I'm like that when I do videos, I like still to this
15:46
I mean, I still can't have people around when I'm filming videos
15:49
because I get too shy.
15:52
Girl, I'm not working on a statue.
15:53
You better get this right now.
15:55
But um yeah, so at first I was really shy to take notes from you
15:59
because I want to get to that point.
16:01
I think essentially it's just like you only live once.
16:03
I know it sounds cheesy but like I want to live my life for me
16:06
And if someone doesn't like me, that's their not mine.
16:08
We made the video and it was about, I think it was like 10 tips
16:12
for curly hair or something like that, something like that
16:15
We posted it and I got like two views.
16:18
Like II, I always told people I never went viral.
16:23
It's a very slow growth, you know what I mean?
16:26
So I posted the video and I was like, cool, I made a video and
16:29
I liked it and even though I only got like maybe 1000 views seeing
16:33
the comments of people like, oh, thank you.
16:35
This was very helpful.
16:37
I really fell in love with that little community that followed
16:39
me at first and I felt like, 00 there's like a little community
16:43
for me and I got like 10 subscribers and 20 subscribers and
16:47
then I felt OK, I want to keep uploading now because I mean,
16:50
there's people out there that even it was like 20 people I felt
16:53
obligated to, you know, keep them informed and updated.
16:58
So what I did um because after high school, I was doing all the
17:01
nursing prerequisites in the nursing program, right?
17:03
Um I uploaded one video a month because that's all I could do
17:06
because I was so busy.
17:07
That was just kind of my dynamic while I was in break between
17:10
semesters and quarters, I would make like two or three videos
17:13
and I slowly release until my next quarter break around 2018
17:17
I believe I had grown to 300,000 subscribers, which is insane
17:22
to even think about.
17:23
I can't even comprehend it.
17:24
And in 2018, uh a brand name Crow reached out to me and they were
17:28
like, we'd like to fly you to New York.
17:30
And I was like, I was like, what, you know what I mean?
17:34
So um I went out to New York and me and my husband went together
17:37
and that's when I met so many girl girls that I had been following
17:41
like Bianca Renee, you know, like, are you nervous?
17:48
I feel like me right now.
17:49
I was so no dude, it was bad.
17:52
My first trip, it was amazing.
17:53
But I was such a new, like I didn't really understand the etiquette
17:57
of the influencer world because I didn't consider myself
18:00
You know, I didn't understand the fact that I had to pack really
18:03
nice clothes and always look put together and stuff.
18:05
So I packed like whatever, you know.
18:08
And no, this is the most embarrassing part.
18:12
But anyways, apart from the fact that I was fan growing, which
18:14
you don't do now, I know like, if someone walks through the
18:16
door that I admire, I just calmly tell them, hey, you know what
18:19
I really admire your work.
18:20
Not like, yeah, which I was literally doing, like taking pictures
18:25
I'm like, oh my God.
18:26
But anyway, it's the point and we're like friends now, I'm
18:27
literally having dinner with tonight, which is crazy.
18:31
Like 17 year old would be like crying.
18:33
But um the point is I was on the trip and then I look at Bianca
18:37
Renee, my friend and then I look at her.
18:39
So what do you do for work?
18:41
And she's like this?
18:43
Yeah, this and I'm like, this is my job.
18:48
I was like, what, what do you mean?
18:49
Yeah, I was like, what do you mean?
18:50
She goes on social media and I'm like, how sponsorships.
18:58
And I was like, well, I get sponsorships too in my head.
19:00
I was thinking I get sponsorships too, but like not enough
19:03
to pay my bill, not even the electric bill.
19:06
Like, I don't, you know what I mean?
19:07
So I was like, why, how did she do this?
19:10
And I think um she picked up from what I was saying and she looked
19:14
at me and she goes, how much do you charge for a youtube video
19:18
And I was like $90 because I didn't know, you know, and I had
19:23
300 at this point you had over 300.
19:26
I had over 300,000 subscribers.
19:28
Oh my God, they are robbing you girl.
19:30
And I was getting a really good views too.
19:32
So yeah, I asked for 90 because I was scared to say 100.
19:36
So um literally when I said that all the girls on the the train
19:41
literally looked at me like, like they just looked at me like
19:44
I was dumb and I went, is that too much?
19:47
And they sat me down.
19:50
Thank God for Bianca and my shout out to Bianca and India, those
19:54
two, I'm like bonded to them forever.
19:55
They sat me down and they like give me a crash course of why I'm
19:58
dumb and I'm doing it wrong.
19:59
They're like, no, no, no, no, no, you have to do this, this,
20:02
this, this, this, this, this I'm not business minded at all
20:06
I'm very much like experienced, I'm there for the experience
20:09
you know what I mean?
20:10
So my husband was, he's very business savvy and much more tech
20:16
You know, he's an accountant, that's just how his brain works
20:18
So he was soaking up all this information and I learned so much
20:21
on that trip on how to become an influencer full time.
20:24
So we went home after that trip and I sat down and contemplated
20:28
everything and then my brain was melted from everything I
20:30
had learned and I was like, whoa, I can do this as a job.
20:37
So I kept doing it through nursing school.
20:39
And then I told my husband, like, I think after nursing school
20:42
I don't want to be straight to being a nurse.
20:43
I think I wanna give this social media thing a try as a job.
20:47
You know, because I liked it.
20:48
So that would be cool.
20:50
If I could make enough money to pay our rent.
20:55
So, um after I graduated high school, I got my license and then
20:58
I did social media full time for like two years and my channel
21:02
went from like 300,000 to 700,000 in a year and a half.
21:06
It was, yeah, it was like your daddy and the rocket girl to the
21:12
But no, it was really crazy and it was the right move.
21:15
The right move was to focus on that.
21:17
And really hone in on that.
21:18
And my husband even put aside his career as he didn't do the
21:21
CPA because he's still an accountant.
21:23
But he put up the CPA test to really help me with this and we put
21:27
everything we could into it.
21:28
And, you know, now we have a house and it's crazy how it works
21:31
So, um with that influencer trip, you were, you know, seeing
21:35
all of these different influencers have all of these, you
21:38
know, focusing it on full time.
21:40
Were you kind of scared to go back to nursing and try to kind
21:45
of men mesh those two worlds together?
21:48
The funny thing about after that trip, um I got signed to an
21:52
agency which I'm still with them to this day.
21:54
Um My life got really chaotic because I started flying out
21:57
to Jamaica Hawaii, Miami, New York L A.
22:01
Um You know what I mean?
22:03
So it's not that I forgot about nursing, but I was just so in
22:07
the moment of and so appreciative and like, oh my gosh, this
22:10
is my life right now.
22:12
This is crazy, you know, and around that time that's when I
22:15
actually started veering away from curly hair and more into
22:19
Um because I mean, I can only say so much about curly hair, bro
22:22
like three years of worth of videos like I have nothing else
22:25
to say besides I like this shampoo.
22:27
It's nice, you know what I mean?
22:29
So I really veered into vlogging.
22:31
Um and, and because I was traveling so much and doing so many
22:34
cool things, I was like, cool, I'll use that as my content.
22:37
So I did vlogging for a good 2.5 years and that also did extremely
22:43
So I feel like I was like, you know, fall into like the little
22:47
two lips and, and then I get an email, your nursing license
22:50
And I was like, uh, oh, I didn't know that you have to have a set
22:56
amount of time where it's valid.
22:59
What happens you have to do the test again or?
23:03
Um, it depends how long it's been inactive.
23:07
Yeah, because I've heard it, it's different.
23:09
So there's a fee you have to pay to renew it.
23:11
You also are required to do some continuing education.
23:14
Um, and actually we have to renew my license this month.
23:17
But um, yeah, you just pay a fee and you have to have a continuing
23:20
education and yet to have a certain amount of work hours.
23:23
So, um, I, it's every three years.
23:25
So, um, I was getting to the three year which I was like, oh my
23:28
gosh, like I need to get a job so I can keep my license because
23:34
You know what I mean?
23:35
So I was like, man, I need to find a job that's flexible enough
23:38
So I was able to find a job as a home health nurse for medically
23:41
fragile babies and Children.
23:43
So it was, I was taking care of kids that were like really sick
23:47
um, and just had rare diseases that you've never even heard
23:50
I've never even heard of you know, like, like the first baby
23:53
girl that I took care of, she passed away at two years old because
23:56
Um, and it was a job that I loved and it just reminded me this
24:00
is why I love being a nurse.
24:02
You know, because I still have those memories of being with
24:04
her and reading her books and we watch Lion King together and
24:07
I would take care of her.
24:08
I would do her medications.
24:10
It reminded me this is why I love nursing even though it was
24:12
hella scary because I was by myself because when you're in
24:14
home health, you're by yourself.
24:15
Like at least now I'm at a hospital.
24:17
Thank God because I have like other nurses.
24:19
I have like the doctor, I could just call the doctor real quick
24:21
but when you're in home health, you're all alone.
24:23
If something goes wrong, figure it out.
24:26
You know what I mean?
24:28
So yeah, I did that for a year and a half.
24:30
It was really, really flexible.
24:31
So then I've balanced social media um and my nursing job and
24:36
then um during the pandemic, um there was a massive need for
24:41
So that's when my local hospital reached out to me through
24:45
And they were like, hey, do you wanna work at this hospital
24:48
Which like everybody just knows if I can get into this hospital
24:53
I'm set like I can go anywhere.
24:55
And I was like, dude, this is amazing because I had applied
24:59
And I think that's another thing that kind of ties in with,
25:01
like, don't give up.
25:02
I had applied to the hospital before and they said no, you know
25:05
Because I didn't have sufficient experience and because
25:08
it's kind of hard to transfer from home health to hospital
25:11
But they reached out to me this time, funny how the world works
25:14
The tables have turned.
25:15
I know they're knocking on your door.
25:18
I know the turns out table.
25:19
But um she, they reached out to me, the crew reached out to me
25:22
and they said, you know, we saw you have a bachelor's degree
25:24
you have a year of experience now.
25:26
Um and you have experience in working with acute care, you
25:29
know, with g tubes, tras ventilators, um things like that
25:33
Um So yeah, I think that's a good point.
25:36
It's like, ok, maybe one opportunity didn't work out because
25:39
you may or may not have enough life experience or work experience
25:43
So what can you do to get that in order to then revisit that goal
25:50
that you once had because you know, just because someone says
25:53
no, ok, ask again in like a year or two or when you have that experience
25:58
because or just keep knocking on their door until they say
26:01
So you started working at this hospital?
26:02
Yes, I started this hospital job in January.
26:05
So right in the new year, I started So I've been there for about
26:08
Wait, it's been this month.
26:11
It's definitely a lot heavier workload.
26:13
I work 12 hour shifts.
26:14
It's from 6 30 to 7:30 p.m. because you get an hour of breaks
26:18
and lunches combined and stuff.
26:20
But yeah, it's 12 hour shifts and I work per DM.
26:23
So, what that means you can do, uh, full time, part time or per
26:29
Like there's all different types of positions.
26:31
That's what I love about our nursing.
26:32
It's really flexible.
26:33
Another thing I love about nursing is like you can be any kind
26:35
of, did, you know, you could be a cruise nurse on a cruise ship
26:38
I did not know that you can be a flight nurse.
26:40
You could be a school nurse.
26:42
You can be a nurse for concerts.
26:44
You can be a travel nurse.
26:45
Oh, yeah, that's a huge thing right now.
26:48
Yeah, lots of my friends are travel nurses right now.
26:50
You're never bored in nursing.
26:51
You'd be a home health nurse.
26:53
You can be a clinic nurse.
26:54
You could be a Botox nurse.
26:56
Yeah, you can do Botox and leg.
27:01
I wanna do my own Botox with my leg.
27:03
You know what I mean?
27:04
Um, but yeah, there's nursing is just a field that like you
27:08
can, if you, let's say you do a nursing job.
27:10
Like me, I did home health for a year and a half and I'm in a hospital
27:13
You know what I mean?
27:14
Like, I like my hospital job.
27:14
I don't see myself leaving soon, but, like, if a really cool
27:17
opportunity shows up, like, cool, I can do this too.
27:20
So it's really cool to know that there are different avenues
27:23
you can take in nursing and it's not just, you know, oh, to be
27:26
a nurse, I just work in hospitals and I just do, you know the
27:30
mundane everyday things that nurses do.
27:32
It's like you can do whatever you want, you can work on a cruise
27:36
I did not know that it was so cool, of course, with um nursing
27:40
and with, and even in social media, you know, being a woman
27:45
a Latina in these fields, do you ever feel any types of adversity
27:52
throughout the years?
27:53
You know, whether it be in education, like when you're in school
27:56
or in your day to day work lives right now, I think the biggest
28:01
challenge for me in social media has been more like the mental
28:05
I think that there's like the constant comparing myself to
28:08
people and like, I feel like there was a really big chunk of
28:13
time and I feel like I'm just now recovering from that, like
28:16
um just comparing myself to people and like what they're achieving
28:20
and numbers they're doing and, and for a while I kind of forgot
28:23
why people were attracted to my content.
28:25
And I tried doing what other people were doing, you know what
28:28
Because I was just like, oh, I guess, I guess that's what's
28:31
popping right now, you know what I mean?
28:32
Um, now I feel a lot more secure in who I am and what I wanna do
28:36
And so I think that that was my biggest thing, but in terms of
28:41
nursing, I feel like my biggest challenge was just, you know
28:44
the, the background that I had in terms of my parents, you
28:47
know, being immigrants and they were not aware of the resources
28:50
I, that's so common for so many second generation kids.
28:55
Um where like you also don't really know the resources that
28:59
Like I said, I didn't know what college was.
29:01
I didn't know what scholarships were.
29:02
I didn't know, you know what I mean?
29:04
How can we move forward?
29:05
How can we help one another right now?
29:07
You know what I mean?
29:08
Because I feel like a lot of the times there could be some stagnation
29:11
in the Latino community only because one because of the process
29:14
of assimilation, it already puts stagnation in you of like
29:17
it's hard, you know, I'm too Mexican to be in America and I
29:22
and I'm too American to be in Mexico.
29:24
You know what I mean?
29:26
You know what I mean?
29:26
Like that kind of idea assimilation, the process of assimilation
29:30
you know, like not being able to speak English.
29:32
You know what I mean, or like, you know, reading the letters
29:35
that arrive in the mail and you're reading it to your mom and
29:37
you're like 10 years old trying to figure out what the letter
29:39
You know, it's just those, those little things making phone
29:42
calls to your own appointment as a kid, you know, like those
29:45
things, um like, i it's not so much that causes stagnation
29:50
but it, it, it kinda prevents us from being able to fully understand
29:55
the resources that we have access to because we're so not stuck
29:59
but trying to survive in this aspect.
30:02
Does that make sense?
30:03
You know what I mean?
30:04
It's kind of the same idea how like people like in Mexico, you
30:08
know, a lot of the times they don't have the opportunity to
30:11
have like um a self identification journey because bro, they're
30:16
working in the fields, they're busting their asses working
30:19
in the fields and their main concern is surviving.
30:22
Like, how am I going to feed my kids today?
30:24
You know what I mean?
30:26
And um I feel like that's like I said, it's not stagnation.
30:29
It's more like survival mode because you don't really have
30:34
the time to think of other things.
30:37
So one more question that I wanted to ask you is how you feel
30:41
being Latina has benefit you and your profession as a nurse
30:45
It has allowed me to really be in a much more intimate place
30:50
in my community literally, I kid you not the last shift that
30:53
I just worked, there was two patients who didn't speak English
30:56
It was two little old men that only spoke Spanish and they gave
31:01
I loved that they were able to have a nurse that, that he was
31:04
so, they were so grateful, you know.
31:06
Um, I mean, the second one was a little confused and a little
31:09
aggressive but he was confused.
31:11
It's part of the job, you know, sometimes you get hit and scream
31:13
that that's just part of, unfortunately part of nursing and
31:15
working with sick people.
31:16
But the first little old man was like he said, bla bla bla and
31:28
um, he told me that he was grateful that he was and he vented
31:31
to me like a lot of things that he had gone through in life.
31:34
He wasn't able to do that with other nurses that couldn't speak
31:37
You know what I mean?
31:37
So, because I spoke Spanish, he was able to really, we were
31:39
really able to connect in a way that was part of my nursing job
31:42
We just taking care of people emotionally too.
31:44
So I thought that was very beautiful.
31:46
And, you know, and I was also able to, the other little old man
31:51
I was like, you know, because they use me a lot to translate
31:56
I, you know, like that's one thing that I loved about being
32:00
a la in the industry.
32:01
And I think another, you know, my final note of loving being
32:05
a Latina in the industry is getting the messages from other
32:07
Latinas being like, dude, you're a nurse and you're Latina
32:11
I look to you, I look up to you like I want to be a Latina nurse
32:15
too and I'm just like, it's so beautiful and I love it and it
32:19
warms my heart so much and you know, like representation matters
32:24
I think everybody knows that representation matters.
32:26
But what happens when you have to be that representation?
32:28
What happens when you've never seen it?
32:30
You know, I have to be that representation in my life.
32:33
You know, I don't even know on earth to begin with.
32:35
You know what I mean?
32:36
So like I, I, I'm really happy that I, I'm really honored that
32:40
I can be in that position where someone could potentially
32:42
see in me like a role model.
32:44
And I, and I find that very beautiful.
32:46
I really appreciate you coming on on the podcast.
32:49
I'm so grateful that you're able to come and talk to me about
32:52
all of your experiences and I absolutely adore you and thank
32:57
you so much for coming.
32:58
Oh Thank you for having me.
33:00
No, seriously, I'm like, I'm super honored and I like sometimes
33:03
I forget like people know who I am because I post a video and
33:06
I'm like, oh, yeah, people watch my videos.
33:07
So like, yeah, thank you.
33:08
I really appreciate it.
33:09
I really, really do and you know, hopefully it's not the last
33:12
time we see you think up later, you know what I mean?
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