Growing up may not be a requirement as we age; but we are certainly shaped by our experiences, and our choices resulting from those experiences! As we gain experiences, our vision for our own future gets more focused when we are gently nudged to think about what we want our future to hold; and what do we find most fulfilling.
Starting in third grade and continuing every year thereafter through High School, my teachers would ask all students to write a short essay about what we wanted to be when we ‘grew up’; and were ‘released’ from the educational institution as adults.
At the time, I took it as simply writing practice to help us get better at correspondence so that we could communicate well in our careers what ever they turned out to be. My chosen career changed every year and sometimes several times in the same year because everything was exciting and interesting to me! Some of my choices were a veterinarian for large animals, a fire fighter, a medical doctor, a registered nurse, an actress, a journalist; and the list gets very long…
Now that I have possibly found what my ultimate passion is (classroom interaction such as tutor or teacher), I am realizing that the “When I Grow Up…” essays were a lot more than just writing practice! They were a multifaceted way of getting us to explore what was available to us for long-term goals and to kick-start our investigative skills.
Every essay that I wrote on that possible ‘dream future’ was in essence, a seed sewn that either germinated as it had been planted; or went to seed from its graft and became something else that was very different from the original. Sometimes, so completely different that I felt like I had been spun around; and I was a little disoriented for a short time as if it were my turn at the piñata.
My routes and the paths that I have taken have been filled with an interesting and diverse collection of experiences, choices, and re-routing. These re-routes were not just detours, then I came right back to the path I had been following. No. They were complete changes in my decided goals and the career that I wanted to achieve. I started my post-high school career as a secretary and it turned out to be far from my passion.
So I joined the Air Force for an advanced education while working as an aircraft electrician, and that was an excellent step for me because it got me headed in the right direction where I could begin to feel satisfied in my choices for my future plus it took me over seas! I advanced in my military rank and earned an associates degree then began to feel that the ‘passion’ had once again bottomed out. I took my honorable discharge and used my G. I. Bill to begin a second degree in Drafting.
It only took three semesters into the Drafting degree; and a colleague at the place of my “help-to-pay-for-college” job as a secretary asked me, “Why aren’t you teaching somewhere? You are so good at explaining the processes and you are patient.” I used my investigative skills to find out what was available in the area of technology that I could potentially become a teacher of, and a Management Information Systems degree was discovered. After working in the Information Technologies (IT) field for just over three years, I realized that I was most satisfied in my job when I was teaching or tutoring someone in an area where I found great interest.
Now I am a Para Professional Tutor (PPT), and I am loving it! Working with the children and not only teaching them or reinforcing what they have learned; but also, learning something new myself every day!
This, in addition to having all my collected practical experiences come in quite useful, is very satisfying.
