The Only Life Advice You Will Ever Need from 1953

Nurse motivationnursing stories
Written By Danielle LeVeck
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Last year, right before my grandmother passed away, but had already moved out of her house into a nursing home; I went through some of her family keepsakes. I came across this letter, which was written by my great grandfather to a family friend in July of 1953. I never met my great grandfather and I really have no idea why he wrote this letter, but I decided if I had followed this advice every day of my life, I would have avoided nearly every mistake I ever made. It has resonated with my ever since and has become my life motto.

Feel free to read the letter yourself, but here are the key points:

  1. Choose a vocation where you can always support yourself.

  2. Study hard and consistently.

  3. Don’t waste time.

  4. Be at the head of your class.

  5. Don’t be a big wheel in a club or be the most active in outside activities, that type of person isn’t the most successful one in his/her field.

  6. The vocation of a NURSE is a high calling.

  7. Have an interest in people.

  8. Marry someone who has ambition and a good family.

  9. If your partner’s parents are kind and considerate, he will probably be kind and considerate.

  10. Don’t marry him for his money.

  11. Marry him because he loves you and you love him, money will come later.

  12. Don’t try to keep up with the Joneses.

  13. Try and save 25% of your income.

  14. Go without rather than get in debt.

  15. Don’t be in debt to anyone.

I’m still an ever-evolving work in progress, but thanks great grandpa for the guide; you must have known something.

This was too formative to keep to myself. I hope you all enjoy!

Danielle LeVeck

Danielle LeVeck (DNP, ACNPC-AG, CCNS, RN, CCRN) is a practicing Adult Geriatric Acute Care Nurse Practitioner in a busy Cardiovascular Surgical Intensive Care Unit. She graduated as a second degree BSN student in 2011 and has been working as an Intensive Care Registered Nurse ever since. Her experience includes cardiac medical and surgical intensive care patients, medical-surgical intensive care patients, and intensive care travel nursing.

When Ms. LeVeck became a nurse, she instantly recognized the beautiful quirks of nursing culture and healthcare in general. She was driven to share the stories of these  “nurse abnormalities” because it was clearly evident how brilliant and instrumental nurses were in providing optimal patient care. Becoming a nurse positively transformed Ms. LeVeck’s life and she hopes to give to the profession as much as it has given to her.

Through her writing and storytelling, Ms. LeVeck strives to inspire and empower the next generation of nurses and renew the previous generation. Her additional passions include promoting synergy within the multidisciplinary team and incorporation of palliative care in the ICU. Overall, she attempts to use humor, raw vulnerability, and clinical precision to achieve authenticity in her online presence.


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