My NCLEX Journey 🩺🇺🇸

Dear Diary,

I still can’t believe that it has been 11 years since I left my home country and started a new life in this beautiful country, New Zealand.

A lot has happened in those 11 years. First of all, I am now married to my Chinito. I am also now a nurse coordinator, working at my dream hospital here in Auckland, New Zealand. And just recently, I started blogging again.

As I look through the photos from 11 years ago, all the memories come flashing right before my eyes. As I recall those memories with a smile on my face, I am reminded of a dream that went beyond my NZRN (New Zealand Registered Nurse) title: my journey towards earning my second international nursing title—becoming a USRN (United States Registered Nurse).

It all started many, many years ago.

After passing the local nursing boards, I tried applying to take the NCLEX (National Council Licensure Examination). However, for some reason, my application was not approved.

So, I started working at a local hospital in our province and eventually got the opportunity to study—and later work—in New Zealand.

However, because of life's circumstances, I had to step up as the breadwinner of my family.  Life became busy.  I worked multiple jobs in order to support my family back home and to help my twin sister financially with her application to the US.

At that time, I was enjoying my life as an NZRN but deep inside my heart, my dream of eventually becoming USRN never completely disappeared.

For five years, I worked tirelessly for my family back home.  I worked as a nurse for the District Health Board in New Zealand while also taking casual nursing jobs in different rest homes.  During those years, I sometimes thought that my dream of becoming a USRN has quietly died.

But perhaps dreams don't really die.  Sometimes, they simply wait for the right time to come alive again.

When my sister finally got the opportunity to work as a nurse in the US, something inside me was rekindled.  My dream of becoming a USRN came back to life, and I finally decided to begin my NCLEX application with the help of NEAC (Nursing education and Assessment Council).

It was also during this time that I sought the help of INAP (International Nurses Academy of the Philippines) Review Centre in the Philippines and started attending their online classes.

I received my eligibility to take the NCLEX during my trip to the US (United States) in December 2023, and I could honestly say that it was love at first sight. However, despite finally being eligible to take the exam, I knew in my heart that I wasn’t ready yet.

Then, I eventually got engaged.

And as you can probably imagine, my focus shifted towards planning our wedding. 💍

After the wedding, however, I finally felt that I was ready to pursue the dream that had been quietly waiting for me all those years.

I officially started preparing for my NCLEX exam in December 2025 and finally
took the exam in March this year.

But what happened during my review journey—and on the day I finally sat for the NCLEX—is another story to tell.

So, bye for now, Dear Diary. 💜

And I hope you’ll join me for the next chapter of my NCLEX Journey Series.

Love,
Maica 💜

✨ Credits & Creative Collaboration

Written & created by Maica
Simply Maica • Nurse Diaries

With AI-assisted creative and editorial support
Brainstorming • Writing assistance • Editing • Visual concepts • Slideshow design

Research & reference support
National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN)
Pearson VUE

Personal experiences, photographs, and final creative decisions remain Maica’s.

Simply Maica
Learn • Grow • Serve • Get There 🪻

My American Dream 🇺🇸

Dear Diary,

The “Ber” months are officially here, and for us Filipinos, that officially marks the beginning of our Christmas season. 🎄🎅🙏

However, it looks like I have already received an early Christmas present this year from—can you believe it?—New York, USA. 🇺🇸

As I opened the package, I saw the license I had dreamed of for so long—my USRN license. And suddenly, the dream I thought had remained dormant in my heart for so long came alive once again. 💜

But perhaps, to understand why this moment means so much to me, we have to go back to where it all began.

My twin sister and I have always been fascinated by America. When we were younger, we would read countless novels set in the United States and watch American movies and television series. We would often wonder what it would feel like to finally see the country we had only read about and watched on screen. And so, we began dreaming of visiting America someday.

While we were in nursing school, that dream slowly evolved into something even bigger.

We started dreaming of becoming USRNs someday—of living and eventually working as nurses in the country we had dreamed about for so long.

Back then, we never knew whether we would ever achieve our American dream. We never knew that life would eventually take us in different directions, giving each of us our own challenges, detours, and paths to follow.

I went to New Zealand and helped my family, while Mara had to wait several more years before she was finally able to achieve her dream of working in the United States.

Years later, Mara is already living the American dream we once imagined together—and now, in the most unexpected way, that same dream has found its way back to me. 🇺🇸💜

And perhaps that is why receiving my USRN license from New York felt like more than simply receiving a piece of paper.

It felt like a dream I had once tucked away quietly in my heart had suddenly awakened.

It reminded me of the girl who once read American novels with her twin sister and wondered what it would be like to see that world for herself.

It reminded me of the nursing student who dared to dream a little bigger—to become a USRN someday.

And it reminded me that sometimes, the dreams we think we have left behind are not really gone.

Sometimes, they are simply waiting for the right moment to find their way back to us. 💜

So, join me as I relive the journey that brought me one step closer to my American Dream—the story of my NCLEX journey, filled with challenges, detours, and unexpected turns along the way. 💜

I promise to take you on my journey toward achieving my American Dream, one chapter at a time. 🇺🇸💜

Love,

Maica 💜

🇺🇸✦ CREDITS ✦🩺

Written & Created by:
👑 Maica Angelle Feraren
Registered Nurse • Writer • Storyteller

Creative & Editorial Collaboration:
🤖 ChatGPT
Creative Assistant • Editorial Partner • Visual Storytelling Collaborator

Contributions by ChatGPT:
— Assisted with organizing and refining Maica’s personal story
— Helped develop the narrative and editorial flow
— Assisted with wording, captions, and storytelling
— Helped conceptualise the visual theme for My American Dream
— Assisted with image-generation concepts and creative direction
— Helped transform Maica’s ideas, memories, nursing journey, and American Dream into a cohesive visual story
— Provided editorial suggestions while preserving Maica’s personal voice

Personal Story, Experiences & Photographs:
📖📸 Maica Angelle Feraren

Final Creative Direction & Approval:
👑 Maica Angelle Feraren

One nurse. Four registrations. One dream that crossed an ocean.

🇵🇭 → 🇳🇿 → 🇺🇸

Nurse Diaries
Stories from the journey of a nurse chasing dreams beyond borders.

The Engagement 💍

Kia Ora, My Dearest Besties,

Springtime is already here—well, at least in this part of the world.

Hence, as I bid goodbye to the chilly winter breeze and start to let go of my beanies, thermals, puffer jackets, and winter boots, I say hello to longer days, warmer weather, and the budding of spring. As I welcome this new season, I am reminded of the beginning of another beautiful season in my life—our engagement season.

Our engagement story is not the kind of story you would see in the movies. Rather, it is a story that is simple, unexpected, yet profound in its own beautiful way.

Walter and I had been together for five years before he asked me the question that would change my life forever.

Six months before our engagement became official, he had already told me that he intended to marry me. At that time, however, he didn’t have the ring yet. We were already beginning to talk about our future and, in a way, had started planning for our wedding.

Then, one ordinary day, Walter asked me to accompany him to a jewelry shop to look at rings.

He asked me which engagement ring I wanted, and I chose the one my heart wanted—the diamond ring in gold. 💍

Little did I know that he was already going to buy the ring that very day.

When we got home, I immediately called my family and closest friends to share the good news. They were ecstatic, and so was I. I was on cloud nine.

We also took our engagement photo at the church where I had once prayed for my future husband—and where, years later, I eventually met him.

There was something incredibly special about standing in that very place with the man I had once prayed for.

Thus, as I look back on the beautiful memories of this special chapter in our lives, I am reminded of the chapter that came after.

So, join me as I narrate the story of what happened after our engagement—the months of excitement, preparation, and anticipation that eventually led us to our big day.

I hope you’ll enjoy the next chapter as much as I enjoyed reliving it.

Till next time,

Aroha,

Maica 💜

✨ Credits

Written by: Maica
Story & Memories: Maica & Walter
Editing, Polishing & Storytelling Support: ChatGPT
Creative Direction & Blog Development: Maica & ChatGPT
Visual Concept & Creative Styling: Maica & ChatGPT
Final Words & Personal Experiences: Maica

With a little help from my Bestie GPT, who helped me turn memories into words, moments into stories, and our journey into something I could share with the world. 💜

Finding ‘The Other Half’: Our Love Story 💜

Morena, My Dearest Besties,

Springtime is almost here—well, at least in this part of the world.

As the ice slowly melts, the flowers begin to bloom, and we welcome a new season, I can’t help but think about new beginnings.

And somehow, it reminds me of how my own love story began. 💜

Walter and I met at a time when I was going through so much in my life. It was a time when I had almost lost my faith—not just in love, but in marriage itself.

Yet, in the middle of all that brokenness, I found myself praying for my future husband.

It was during this season of my life that I met Walter through the youth group at our Catholic church, Singles for Christ.

We both came from the Philippines and moved to New Zealand around the same time, just three weeks apart. And as if that wasn’t already a funny little coincidence, we both have twins. Walter has a twin brother, while I have a twin sister. Even our birthdays are just a day apart—his is March 1, and mine is March 2.

For the next two years, I continued praying for my future husband at that very same church where Walter was serving. We would see each other there whenever I went to Mass and he was serving and I was quite specific with my prayers. 😅

I prayed for someone tall, someone with a good educational and family background, someone who shared my Catholic faith, and most importantly, someone who would love and accept me despite my flaws, my imperfections, and everything I had been through.

During those years, I also watched some of my friends and mates get married and start their own families. There were moments when I wondered if I was falling behind in life.

But I chose to trust God’s timing.

Then, after two years of friendship, Walter finally asked me out on a date.

And somewhere in that moment, I realised something:

The person I had been praying for all those years might have been right in front of me all along.

I had prayed for someone tall. Walter is 5’11”.

I had prayed for someone with a good educational and family background. Walter came from both.

And I had prayed for someone who would love and accept me exactly as I am.

That was the prayer that mattered most.

Because Walter loved me—not despite my past and my imperfections, but with all of them.

Our relationship was never the kind that gave me butterflies every single time we were together. Instead, it was something much quieter—and, in many ways, much more beautiful.

It was peaceful.

Steady.

Calm.

Looking back, Walter became the answer to so many of my “why's.”

Why did I have to go through those heartbreaks?

Why did some things not work out?

Why did I have to take those unexpected detours and experience those setbacks?

Perhaps I had to go through all of them to prepare me for the kind of love I have today.

A love that is peaceful.

A love that is steady.

A love that is unconditional.

And yet, during all those years when I was losing faith in love, there was always a little girl within me who continued to believe in her own ever after.

Perhaps she was right all along.

Aroha,

Maica 💜

✨ Credits

Written by: Maica
Story & Memories: Maica & Walter
Editing, Polishing & Storytelling Support: ChatGPT
Creative Direction & Blog Development: Maica & ChatGPT
Visual Concept & Creative Styling: Maica & ChatGPT
Final Words & Personal Experiences: Maica

With a little help from my Bestie GPT, who helped me turn memories into words, moments into stories, and our journey into something I could share with the world. 💜