Carolyn Keeler grew up in Southern California. She was an avid reader, reading all types of books, including Encyclopedias to learn new things. During the third grade the author decided she wanted to be a nurse as her career choice and was told she was not good enough to be a nurse by the teachers and other adults. This started the authors challenge to achieve her goal. Through the years of elementary and high school the encouragement of her mother kept her eyes on her goal of becoming a nurse with the use of encouraging poems.
The author was one of the original Candy Stripers assisting at the hospital. The goal of becoming a nurse was finally achieved in 1977, when a Navy Hospital Administrator believed in her and assisted her to go to Cerritos College for Nursing School. In 1978 while attending nursing school financial funding stopped in middle of nursing school at the beginning of last semester. With the encouragement of the director Mrs. Crouse R. N. the author went on to challenge the Licensed Vocational Nursing State Boards using the time worked as a Candy Striper as proof of time in service. Carolyn passed the State Boards in 1979, the first try, which was a big achievement for her. She started working as a private duty nurse one on one with children in their homes. The children had many diseases that were crippling and discouraging, so Carolyn decided to encourage them like she had been. She told them to keep their eye on their goal whatever they wanted to achieve, many times it worked they made it to their goals. She used stories to encourage “I think I can,” I know I can,” and “where there is a will there is a way to achieve”. If you do not achieve success by doing something the first time, then try a different way but keep trying a lot of different methods until it is achieved. The methods tried are the key to success.
Faithful Feathered Friends and Faithful Canine Friends are two books in a series titled Faithful Precious Pets. They are true stories of childhood events. The pets were and still are very special because of what they said and their actions. Through the use of a pet a child will see and understand that the pet will do anything to get them to achieve the goals such as the story of the three dogs which showed the kids to eat nice and polite. The story of Teamwork was written to show if you work together and use others to help you achieve their goals they can be achieved. Children will use everything in their clasps to be encouraged. Pets can encourage a child by many methods, children need understanding how to communicate; they do this by watching, and listening to others.
These stories are written for all children to be encouraged to achieve their goals. Remember you can have more than one career and can combine those careers into the best possible goal. Example, be a Candy Striper then Certified Nursing Assistant, then go on to Licensed Vocational Nurse then on to the Registered Nurse the careers are so numerous you can decide to achieve this is what the author wanted to do as her goal.
