First of all, welcome; you're entering a world where no two days are exactly alike and you can go from boredom to anxiety-attack in the time it takes for your next call to be dispatched. Now, take a good minute and try to capture all that is good with being an EMT. Think of the excitement, the challenges, the sheer "fun-quotient", legally running traffic lights,(c'mon, admit it...) and everything else that drew you to our world. Now, put it in a bottle, cork it really tight, and save it. You'll need it for those 3 a.m. calls to retrieve the same drunk from the same gutter for the second time this week, for the patient who leans over the side of the cot and deposits their entire stomach contents on your clean pants and boots, and for the first time you have to do CPR on a two year old who was found in the bottom of the pool. Don't get me wrong, I love this job. I've done it for a paycheck (as a primary job and as a secondary part of my job as a firefighter). I've done it for free (on a volunteer rescue squad and as a volunteer fireman). I've done it in the snows of Michigan and on the beaches of Florida and South Carolina. What I'm saying is that there will be bad times and good, but try to always remember that you are out there making a difference in the lives of those who summon you for help. You owe it to yourself and others to try to always do the very best you can, and that first impressions are everything in this job. It's OK to be upset, and it's probably important that you do get upset now and then. One of my personal mantras has always been that I will quit caring about being an EMT on the day I stop caring about people. I wish you all the best, and I hope you stop back often; there is more wisdom and experience within the confines of this little corner of the Web than in the pages of any textbook. God Bless....
. Just wanted to say hey to all of yall.
Welcome to EMTLife, this is a great forum! Good luck in class and all your endeavors! 
