(Not So) Dream Job
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When I was little, I thought about being may different things when I grew up. I played house and school the most. As I got a little older, I found that I didn’t really Iike kids. I decided I wasn’t EVER having kids. Young minds, right?
In my teen years, I decided I wanted to be a clown. I love clowns! I didn’t just want to be any clown. I wanted to be a clown in the circus! The circus is one of my all time favorite things in this world. My mom embraced my passion and enrolled us both in a small, local clown class. We learned the different types of clowns and how to apply the make up. We had costumes made and even had a graduation. Guess what. I am a certified clown!
I got my first clown job a month or so later working a company party. During that party, I realized something. I am not meant to be a clown. Sigh. I am not a clown by nature. I am reserved and shy. I thought being a clown would let me out of my shell. Nope. I just had a colorful, new shell.
As I graduated high school, I realized I had an interest in dead people. I like to look at them and wonder about their story. I found myself wanting to work with dead people. Sounds creepy, I know. In college, I went to the library and read about what it takes to be a mortician. I realized very quickly that I could not work with dead people in that capacity. You see, I have a weak stomach. I can’t handle watching blood and gore movies. How was I to embalm a body? How was I to handle seeing a body that had been in a horrific accident? I couldn’t. Dream job #2 was out, but I thought of a another option. A funeral director. I could work with the families that were grieving. I could help them plan the funeral and help them cope. It didn’t take any research to figure out that this was a big NO. I am extremely emotional and even cry at heartfelt commercials. There’s no way I could be a funeral director. I would grieve with the families for sure. I would cry right alongside them. How professional of me, right?
After that, I had no clue what I wanted to be when I grew up. I let life get in the way and didn’t finish college. I got married at 21. I worked different jobs through the years… hostess, waitress, accounts payable, customer services, sales, etc.
After having both of my children, I wanted to be a stay at home mom. That wasn’t in the works for me though. I had to work to help pay bills. When my kiddos were in third and first grade, I took on a job at their school as a PE Aide. I loved it! I wore shorts to work, played and taught sports to young students, and had time off to spend with my kids in the summer. I was in that job for 2 months before I decided that teaching was my calling.
At the age of 33, I enrolled in an online college and got busy! Three years later, I was a certified teacher! I truly wanted to teach third or fourth grade. Well, that didn’t go as planned, but I ended up right where I was suppose to be! I became a Special Education teacher teaching students with learning disabilities or other health impairments like ADD or ADHD. I am now in my tenth year of this profession and still LOVE it!
Many of us have that dream job in our minds. My reality turned out be the dream I didn’t know I had. What’s yours? Did your dream meet your reality?
14 Comments
Joy
Great post! I Love That you tried different things until you found your dream job!
My husband is a Special Education teacher also, you have a challenging but rewarding job for sure!
Paige
Kudos to your husband! I am sure he feels as blessed as I do in my job. I wonder if that was his dream from the beginning or if it unfolded over time like mine.
Karishma
It took me a while to find something I love to do as well. I went through university pursuing life Science in hopes of becoming a doctor and after my undergrad I knew it wasnt for me. I wanted to do something that interacted more with people. I chose to be a nurse and I kind of did it step by step. PSW first, RPN next and finally my RN. I LOVE what I do but I have more than one passion. As a child, my passion always lay in writing – i considered journalism as well but did not work out for various reasons. Finally I started to start my blogging to incorporate my absolute love for writing and traveling. So happy that you were able to find what you love to do. It is so important to find a job that is not work and more fun!
Paige
It’s truly amazing how our lives just work out. You are now living the life working in a field you love and writing. Keep it up!
Hollee
I love this! I work with adults who have disabilities and it truly takes a special person to work in our field.
Paige
I agree with you wholeheartedly. I never thought I’d be one to venture into special education, but it is where I was led and have chosen to stay. How did you get into working with adults?
Susan
Sounds like you’re a great mom and teacher (and to think you didn’t want kids…lol). I stopped after my son was diagnosed with ADHD but with much patience he turned out amazing. Kudos to you because while he was growing up, no one understood what it was like (except me because I had it too). Keep up the wonderful work and thanks for sharing.
Paige
Awe…thank you! I am blessed to have the job I do and I am grateful. ADHD can keep you on your toes for sure, but there are such cute smiles, loving hearts, and brilliant ideas within. You keep being amazing!
Kristin
Too real! I knew I wanted to be a teacher starting back in high school. And, when I became a teacher, I knew I didn’t want to stop working when I had kids because I just got bored too easily. After my second was born, I wanted nothing more than to stay at home with the boys. I begged my husband to see if we could make it work, and now I’m home. I know I would eventually like to start working again, but probably not in teaching. It’s so funny how life changes so dramatically sometimes!
Paige
I completely understand! I wanted to stay home with my first child, but it wasn’t in the cards financially. I did get to stay home a little while with my son. It is pretty cool how things work out to be what you didn’t know you wanted.
Cathy
This is sooooooo interesting! I love reading about the transitions you went through to find Your perfect job. Clowns…not so much! Funeral direction…nah! It’s great where you ended up.. Good for you! It’s so interesting learning more about you! I think you’re my new hero! Most of my adult life, I was in some form of insurance as a customer service rep. Not a dream job! Maybe, blogging will work out for me, the jury is still out on that one!
Heather Honold
I love your level of self-awareness and that you did not give up. That is a huge lesson. So many of us are unsure of what we want to do, or more specifically what we are “meant” to do. We sometimes get disappointed in ourselves, not realizing that actually experiencing the journey is what helps us get to our destination! So happy you found something that was mean for you!
Dana
My dream job as a nurse. I quickly realized that I hated blood and trauma scared me, so I changed majors to education. I’ve been in education now for 10 years and to be brutally honest, I am burnt out. I’m considering an escape as we speak. I’ve really been on a journey to live a blessed life and I want more freedom to work on the blog, visit my kids at their parties, and be able to workout when I want. But in reality, the money has to be there to walk out of the classroom.
Rachel E Tindall
It’s interesting the learning curves we go through as we try to figure out where we’re supposed to be, isn’t it? I’ve always wanted to be a writer, but got discouraged during my freshman year of college. Although I have kept a path in English, it wasn’t until last year that I picked back up my creative roots! There’s nothing more personally fulfilling (relationships aside) than writing, and I’m glad to be on my path once again. Love hearing about others’ paths, too! Thanks for sharing! 🙂