This is a memoir of my experiences as a nursing student in 2011:
Entering my last semester of nursing school at UM in Ann Arbor, my life seemed on track to begin soon. Unlike other students at the program I was a couple years older at 25, and engaged to a man from my hometown in Michigan I'd been seeing since I was 19. Eric had enlisted in the army and the plan was when I finished he would either bring me to the base with him or more likely he would come back to Michigan and we would begin our life together and settle down to raise a family.
This was early 2011, my last semester which promised to be busy and stressful, so I was kind of excited to finish and start my career until Eric returned from being stationed overseas.
At 5'8, about 140 lbs with chestnut blonde hair and the body of girls you see around college campuses, I definitely attracted attention from men. My curves were highlighted by my D cup breasts, which caught stares pretty much everywhere I went. I was kind of a late bloomer and sort of a nerd in high school, I didn't lose my virginity until I was 18, so I wasn't the crazy college girl you saw on spring breaks or frat parties. Still I had my teeny bopper side and really enjoyed pop music, with Katy Perry being my favorite. Her album Teenage dream was topping the charts at the time and her songs soundtracked my life back then.
Even though I had a few friends in the nursing program, I spent most of my time alone either studying or skyping with my fiance many evenings from my off campus apartment. With my last semester beginning I accepted an invitation from some nursing school friends to go out for drinks on a Saturday night. This was in February 2011 so unfortunately we were hit with a blizzard that caused our plans to fall through. Disappointed I ended up at my apartment but lonely. This was way past the era of chat rooms like when I was growing up, but out of curiousity I googled a few and found one that I entered, I hadn't really tried chatting in years but I figured what the hell, as I opened some wine and watched the snow piling up outside.
After a few minutes I struck up a conversation with a super friendly guy from Florida named Cory. He wasn't as overtly sexual as most pervs you meet in chat rooms but playfully flirty as we struck up a conversation. He was in his early 30s, was single after having 2 ******* and kind of starting over, he had a job managing a car detail shop in Tampa and was very down to earth. He was a black guy who had grown up in the ghetto of East Tampa and had gotten into trouble with ******* and had been arrested in his early 20s but had gotten his life together and was actively involved helping raise his sons. We chatted about music, sharing our favorites on youtube late in to the night, me playing my girly pop songs and him recommending some of the hip hop songs he was into. It ended up being a really fun night, a pleasant surprise meeting a new friend which sure beat standing in. a loud bar with my friends talk about school and their boyfriends.
I was upfront with Cory that I was engaged, and he was completely understanding but wanted to stay chat friends, and I agreed there was no harm in giving him my yahoo messenger nickname (yes it was 2011! haha) to talk again. I hadn't really had a lot of black friends, my girlfriend Monique from the nursing program was black but I'd never dated a black guy growing up or into my early 20s when I got serious with Eric. In a lot of ways I was maybe a bit sheltered or almost naive back then. Even though I was a successful student in a serious relationship, there was a lot about the world I had yet to learn about or experience.
In the following weeks I got busy again with the nursing program but occasionally I'd catch Cory online when I was working on a paper and he would brag about the 75 degree weather while it was still snowy and frigid in Michigan. He often brought a smile to my face and turned me on to a lot of bomb ass hip hop at the time like Gucci Mane, Yo Gotti, and even older stuff like 2Pac. Gradually we started to talk a bit more on yahoo through that March and I finally agreed to become facebook friends, but things were still very innocent and pen pal like.
The stress of the semester gave me a lot of anxiety and our conversations definitely helped. He half jokingly said I really needed to start smoking weed, which is what he openly admitted he did when we chatted, with me drinking wine usually.
Cory called me his homegirl and kept a friendsy vibe so it was easy to relax with him and the distance made things def feel safe, though as I got to know him better I started to really trust him more and more. We started talking on the phone and over skype a bit, and as march moved into April we were talking more and more. Still I considered him a big brother looking out for me, and when he started to float the idea of me visiting him in Tampa it seemed not as crazy or possibly inappropriate as it would maybe appear to an outsider. Still it wasn't something I seriously considered, especially once my fiance returned, I wasn't sure if we might lose contact, I considered him almost like a college friend if that makes sense.
As the semester hit crunch time, we talked a little less. I was pretty much finishing up schoolwork and sleeping, anyone who has been in nursing school knows how tough it can be. Cory mentioned Katy Perry was touring in Tampa that June and I should consider coming down as reward to myself for my hard work. I was a bit unsure but didn't put a lot of thought into it at the time though it did sound kind of fun. He mentioned it a few times and I said I would think about it. Even though I completely trusted him and considered him one of the people I was closest to at this point I wasn't sure it was the right thing to do considering I was engaged and that my fiance certainly would not accept the idea of me going down and hanging out with a black guy, or any guy for that matter.
So you will probably imagine my surprise when I finish my last class and walking into my apartment I saw a message on my messenger from Cory saying congrats and that he had bought me tickets to the show as a grad gift, I could bring a girlfriend down if I wanted, or he would gladly take me, but he said I deserved it for all my hard work, a little vacation and relaxation time. Now I didn't really have any girlfriends at the time who would have been willing to make a trip like that so if I was going to go it would be with him.
I wasn't really sure what to do, my fiance wasn't coming back until September so my only real plans that summer were to spend time back at my parents and start the job search and wedding planning.
Still the idea of seeing Katy, my all time favorite artist live was enticing, I'd never been to Florida and it just sounded so fun. I know it probably sounds ridiculous that I was this naive but I don't know, I felt like I couldn't handle myself and after 3 months talking so much I sensed he was a good guy and things would be cool. Cory re-enforced how much I deserved it, which I found sweet but the one thing I wasn't sure about was if I went what would I tell my fiance, even though I knew it would be platonic it would be hard to explain. Cory simply suggested I not tell him and overcomplicate things. I wouldn't have to lie, just not bring it up. I could even talk to him while I was down there so he wouldn't worry. I told him I'd sleep on it and let him know, but we ended up skyping and having a mini graduation celebration on skype. After several glasses of wine we started to talk about the trip again and the next thing I knew I was booking plane tickets for June, it seemed surreal but it was so exciting and I was buzzed I admit, either way he was happy and it was something to look forward to.
My family threw a graduation party in the next few weeks and I was back home, I didn't tell them about the trip as even though at this point I was looking forward to it I wasn't sure they would understand, but I knew they would worry. I booked myself a hotel room at a beautiful beach resort as a graduation gift to myself. Looking at the white sandy beaches on the hotel website and thinking of Katy rocking out I started to get more and more excited for my secret trip!
After a few weeks of relaxing and shopping for bathing suits for the beach online, the time came for my flight. It was a surprisingly short 2.5 hour flight to Tampa, seeing the green and palm trees as we landed was super exciting and felt exotic at the time.
To be continued...
Entering my last semester of nursing school at UM in Ann Arbor, my life seemed on track to begin soon. Unlike other students at the program I was a couple years older at 25, and engaged to a man from my hometown in Michigan I'd been seeing since I was 19. Eric had enlisted in the army and the plan was when I finished he would either bring me to the base with him or more likely he would come back to Michigan and we would begin our life together and settle down to raise a family.
This was early 2011, my last semester which promised to be busy and stressful, so I was kind of excited to finish and start my career until Eric returned from being stationed overseas.
At 5'8, about 140 lbs with chestnut blonde hair and the body of girls you see around college campuses, I definitely attracted attention from men. My curves were highlighted by my D cup breasts, which caught stares pretty much everywhere I went. I was kind of a late bloomer and sort of a nerd in high school, I didn't lose my virginity until I was 18, so I wasn't the crazy college girl you saw on spring breaks or frat parties. Still I had my teeny bopper side and really enjoyed pop music, with Katy Perry being my favorite. Her album Teenage dream was topping the charts at the time and her songs soundtracked my life back then.
Even though I had a few friends in the nursing program, I spent most of my time alone either studying or skyping with my fiance many evenings from my off campus apartment. With my last semester beginning I accepted an invitation from some nursing school friends to go out for drinks on a Saturday night. This was in February 2011 so unfortunately we were hit with a blizzard that caused our plans to fall through. Disappointed I ended up at my apartment but lonely. This was way past the era of chat rooms like when I was growing up, but out of curiousity I googled a few and found one that I entered, I hadn't really tried chatting in years but I figured what the hell, as I opened some wine and watched the snow piling up outside.
After a few minutes I struck up a conversation with a super friendly guy from Florida named Cory. He wasn't as overtly sexual as most pervs you meet in chat rooms but playfully flirty as we struck up a conversation. He was in his early 30s, was single after having 2 ******* and kind of starting over, he had a job managing a car detail shop in Tampa and was very down to earth. He was a black guy who had grown up in the ghetto of East Tampa and had gotten into trouble with ******* and had been arrested in his early 20s but had gotten his life together and was actively involved helping raise his sons. We chatted about music, sharing our favorites on youtube late in to the night, me playing my girly pop songs and him recommending some of the hip hop songs he was into. It ended up being a really fun night, a pleasant surprise meeting a new friend which sure beat standing in. a loud bar with my friends talk about school and their boyfriends.
I was upfront with Cory that I was engaged, and he was completely understanding but wanted to stay chat friends, and I agreed there was no harm in giving him my yahoo messenger nickname (yes it was 2011! haha) to talk again. I hadn't really had a lot of black friends, my girlfriend Monique from the nursing program was black but I'd never dated a black guy growing up or into my early 20s when I got serious with Eric. In a lot of ways I was maybe a bit sheltered or almost naive back then. Even though I was a successful student in a serious relationship, there was a lot about the world I had yet to learn about or experience.
In the following weeks I got busy again with the nursing program but occasionally I'd catch Cory online when I was working on a paper and he would brag about the 75 degree weather while it was still snowy and frigid in Michigan. He often brought a smile to my face and turned me on to a lot of bomb ass hip hop at the time like Gucci Mane, Yo Gotti, and even older stuff like 2Pac. Gradually we started to talk a bit more on yahoo through that March and I finally agreed to become facebook friends, but things were still very innocent and pen pal like.
The stress of the semester gave me a lot of anxiety and our conversations definitely helped. He half jokingly said I really needed to start smoking weed, which is what he openly admitted he did when we chatted, with me drinking wine usually.
Cory called me his homegirl and kept a friendsy vibe so it was easy to relax with him and the distance made things def feel safe, though as I got to know him better I started to really trust him more and more. We started talking on the phone and over skype a bit, and as march moved into April we were talking more and more. Still I considered him a big brother looking out for me, and when he started to float the idea of me visiting him in Tampa it seemed not as crazy or possibly inappropriate as it would maybe appear to an outsider. Still it wasn't something I seriously considered, especially once my fiance returned, I wasn't sure if we might lose contact, I considered him almost like a college friend if that makes sense.
As the semester hit crunch time, we talked a little less. I was pretty much finishing up schoolwork and sleeping, anyone who has been in nursing school knows how tough it can be. Cory mentioned Katy Perry was touring in Tampa that June and I should consider coming down as reward to myself for my hard work. I was a bit unsure but didn't put a lot of thought into it at the time though it did sound kind of fun. He mentioned it a few times and I said I would think about it. Even though I completely trusted him and considered him one of the people I was closest to at this point I wasn't sure it was the right thing to do considering I was engaged and that my fiance certainly would not accept the idea of me going down and hanging out with a black guy, or any guy for that matter.
So you will probably imagine my surprise when I finish my last class and walking into my apartment I saw a message on my messenger from Cory saying congrats and that he had bought me tickets to the show as a grad gift, I could bring a girlfriend down if I wanted, or he would gladly take me, but he said I deserved it for all my hard work, a little vacation and relaxation time. Now I didn't really have any girlfriends at the time who would have been willing to make a trip like that so if I was going to go it would be with him.
I wasn't really sure what to do, my fiance wasn't coming back until September so my only real plans that summer were to spend time back at my parents and start the job search and wedding planning.
Still the idea of seeing Katy, my all time favorite artist live was enticing, I'd never been to Florida and it just sounded so fun. I know it probably sounds ridiculous that I was this naive but I don't know, I felt like I couldn't handle myself and after 3 months talking so much I sensed he was a good guy and things would be cool. Cory re-enforced how much I deserved it, which I found sweet but the one thing I wasn't sure about was if I went what would I tell my fiance, even though I knew it would be platonic it would be hard to explain. Cory simply suggested I not tell him and overcomplicate things. I wouldn't have to lie, just not bring it up. I could even talk to him while I was down there so he wouldn't worry. I told him I'd sleep on it and let him know, but we ended up skyping and having a mini graduation celebration on skype. After several glasses of wine we started to talk about the trip again and the next thing I knew I was booking plane tickets for June, it seemed surreal but it was so exciting and I was buzzed I admit, either way he was happy and it was something to look forward to.
My family threw a graduation party in the next few weeks and I was back home, I didn't tell them about the trip as even though at this point I was looking forward to it I wasn't sure they would understand, but I knew they would worry. I booked myself a hotel room at a beautiful beach resort as a graduation gift to myself. Looking at the white sandy beaches on the hotel website and thinking of Katy rocking out I started to get more and more excited for my secret trip!
After a few weeks of relaxing and shopping for bathing suits for the beach online, the time came for my flight. It was a surprisingly short 2.5 hour flight to Tampa, seeing the green and palm trees as we landed was super exciting and felt exotic at the time.
To be continued...
