Dream Job

I just read a post on another blog about how the author feels as if she missed her dream job. She feels stuck. She feels that life just swept by her. She wants to write, but feels there are too many hindrances in the way.

I'm fairly young. I'll be 25 in June. I have a lot of life ahead of me. There is still so much for me to experience and accomplish. I'm worried though that life is going to sweep right by me. I'm worried that I'm going to be too busy wallowing in self-pity over my life circumstances (which are not pitiful at all) that I miss my life's calling. I'm worried that I'm going to be too busy playing it safe that I don't take risks.

I've mentioned before here that I have planned my life "perfectly" thus far. I graduated on time, got married on time, started my career on time, didn't start a family too soon, etc.... Now, I know that I didn't really cause my life to work out this way. I know plenty of other people whose lives turned out completely different. God blessed me with my life path and helped me make wise choices. I don't really know why God has allowed me to follow my "special little path" so well up until this point. The problem is, I'm starting to doubt the wisdom of a certain part of my special little path: my career.

When I was in high school, I labored over my career decision. I was determined to stick with whatever path I chose. I wasn't entirely sold on being a teacher. I felt like I was selling myself short. I felt like I was capable of so much more. (This is not to say being a teacher is an easy, worthless job. Believe me, I know better now!) I started leaning towards teaching because I really liked the field of education and always enjoyed school. In college, I soaked up my education classes and could not wait to get into the classroom. I had a partially awesome student-teaching experience (one of my coop teachers was...well... nevermind). I enjoyed teaching for the most part my first two years. This year I've really enjoyed parts of teaching, and I've really loathed parts of teaching. Dealing with unreasonable parents really squelches your love of teaching.***

So, I started thinking back to my real passion in life: writing. The thing about writing is, it's risky. It doesn't carry a guaranteed paycheck. If your work gets rejected, it's like you are being rejected. It requires great discipline (and you already know what a lazy perfectionist I am). My husband is all for it. He is constantly encouraging me to write. My dad has been my biggest champion in my writing. He always edited my papers in high school and told me I was a good writer. So, I started this blog with hopes of really pursuing my future in writing. I figure that I need to write with some sort of audience if I'm ever going to get paid to do it in the future.

I hope I don't chicken out. I really want to write. I'm hoping this blog gives me the courage and practice I need in order to succeed in writing. I know it sounds cliche, and that everyone hopes their blog turns into a book. I'm not necessarily hoping for that. I just want to write, write, write.

***Note: I'm not planning on quitting my job anytime soon. A good long summer vacation will surely cure what ails me. Teaching really is a wonderful career. : )