My Wonderful Life

by Joleen Chin

My name is YuLin Chin. I came from Taiwan. I was born in 1969 in the capital Taipei

and lived there for 31 years. My father was a public servant before, but he has retired now.

My mother was a housewife; she always stayed at home and took care of her family.

My parents have four daughters; Im the youngest. I have three older sisters; they

have already been married for many years. In addition to those sisters, I have three brothers

inlaw. They all love me, but I love their children more. I have not only three cute nephews,

but also one beautiful niece. We often take short trips together. I love my family. My parents

care about childrens education; they told us, Knowledge is the most precious treasure for

everyone! I always remember those words in my mind.

I went to elementary school when I was 7 years old. Those six years were the happiest

time in my memory. I didnt need to worry about anything; teachers just gave a little

homework, so I had most of the time left to play with my sisters and my neighbor children.

Everyday was a holiday!

When I was 15 years old, I chose to study at the Mackey Nursing school. I wasnt sure

what I wanted to do at that young age. My mother told me it would be the best choice. The

Mackey hospital was a famous hospital, so I could find a good job when I graduated. Thats

the first time I came into contact with Nursing; Im grateful that my mother made this decision

for me. I feel I like nursing more and more everyday now.

After I graduated from nursing school, I worked in the Mackey hospital. That was my

first job; I was a nurse in the surgical ward for 2 years. Dr. Mackey was a missionary from

America. He established this hospital to help Chinese people 100 years ago, because he felt

that medical care was very poor in Taiwan. He wanted to save more peoples lives. I thought,
if an American could do that, why couldnt I? I wanted to be like him and take care of patients.

Sometimes when I worked, I felt I needed more knowledge to help me. Therefore, I went to

the National Taipei Nursing College to continue my studies. I learned more skills about nursing

in those 2 years.

When I graduated in 1991, I applied to the Taiwan Adventist Hospital for my second

job. At first, I worked in the surgical ward. After 1 more year, I transferred to the outpatient

department so I could work a regular shift everyday. At that time, a big change came to me;

the hospital chose me to work with the hospital chief. It was a great honor for me. I worked

hard to help my boss in his clinic.

On the other hand, my parents wanted me to learn more about nursing management

at the same time. As a result, I took a difficult university test. It was smooth going for me

after I was accepted to the National Taipei Nursing University. My major was Nursing

Management. I was so happy, because it required the best score to come into this level.

During those 3 years, I still worked hard in the daytime and went to study every evening. I

always did my homework until midnight; I felt tired every day. Sometimes I wanted to give

up, but I couldnt! I knew that work and education both were important to me.

Working in the hospital was very stressful for me; my way to relax was to travel. Thats

my favorite activity! I like to go to a new place that I have never been to before. Every year,

I took vacations to go abroad; I have already been to 13 countries and learned about their

cultures. I hope I can travel the whole world.

I graduated from the college in 1997. At the same time, the hospital praised my work;

they promoted me to be an assistant head nurse. At first, I was scared and refused the

position. I preferred to work by myself instead of ordering someone to do something. I felt I

had not enough experiences to lead other workers. However, the hospital made the same
decision after 6 months. The chief told me I couldnt refuse again, because I had gained more

good experience in those months. They needed me to help the hospital to make some

improvements. Finally I agreed to that, so I had more responsibilities to manage the whole

department. I worked in this position for 3 years.

Last year, I made a decision for myself; I wanted to continue my masters degree in

the U.S.! I got my parentsand coworkerssupport. Now I can learn both knowledge about

my specialty as well as English. I know this way will be very difficult for a foreign student, but

I want to challenge myself. I believe I can do it well!

Now I have graduated after 4 years with a Bachelors degree. Of all the experiences in

my life, education is the most important part. I have studied more knowledge about nursing

since the first day I went to nursing high school at 15 years old. I have never stopped learning

till now. Although tests were difficult in the university, and it was hard for me to schedule

classes after work, I finished all of them and didnt have once absence. I like to learn every

new thing. Studying has no age limit. People usually say, Its never too late to learn. I think

Ill follow this truth in my future and come back to my country to devote what I learn to all

the people there.