I remember in elementary school having to dress like the career you wanted! The number of marine biologists was staggering! Not sure if it was due to the popularity of the show SeaQuest (Jonathan Bradis, swoon), or Free Willy, but we all had the dream donning wetsuits, swimming with dolphins, and saving the planet one oceanic creature at a time.
I went to college to be a nurse. I “studied” and missed the mark by .1 of a grade point after my freshman year. I went into my advisor’s office, insistent that I should have been accepted into the nursing program. I told her I’d really study more and party less, but unlike the breeze of high school, college wasn’t that simple.
I graduated from college with a degree in psychology and a job at a staffing firm. Did I dream of working in sales? Heck no! But the money sounded good, and I wasn’t sure what else I wanted to do, so I gave it a shot.
Two and a half years later, I learned about a graduate program to become a teacher in a neighboring county. I quit my staffing job, became a full-time substitute teacher, and began building classroom experience.
Fast forward a year: I was accepted into the graduate program, and in two years of paper writing and attending university classes, I earned a Master’s Degree and became a full-time special education teacher.
I taught in two states and four different schools for 17 years. Recently, I walked away from the classroom. I was burnt out, tired of being expected to “do more with less,” and, for the first time, chose happiness over all else —and haven’t looked back.
I now own a cottage microbakery out of my home and am simply happy. I’m a mom to three amazing ladies and get to work in a way that still allows me to put family first, run my creative mind free, and feel fulfilled.
Looking back on my journey from career dreams to the present, it was not linear.
I’ve had many aspirations and job positions, and thought I had my career for a lifetime a few times! But they were all stops along the way to where I am today. The ride has not been simple. I felt defeated quite a few times, and panicked about the future more times than I could count. Looking back at the roadblocks I endured, I am proud to have pivoted and tried to make the most of them. I tried to learn and grow to take on my next step.
It is never too late to reinvent yourself, and revisit that question from second grade – What do you want to be when you grow up?
