A shining light, a beacon of hope...

Yes, yes, I know my posts have been few and far between lately. I'm sorry. But life gets a little crazy at times! Today I think I may have quite a lot to say, though, so be prepared!

I just had a meeting with Paul Carpino, the career counselor here at Flagler. As I told Erica earlier, I didn't really know what to expect, but I did expect and fear that he would sit down, look at me, and say, "so what do you want to do with your life?" And essentially, he did just that. Anybody who's been keeping up with me in the past few weeks knows that this is the exact question that I have been struggling to answer for myself, so I sure as heck didn't want somebody else to ask me! But he asked. And I told him what I've come up with so far. I hesitantly began by informing him that I'm not totally sure that I even want to teach. [*gasp!* are education majors allowed to say that???] I proceeded to explain that the reason I am unsure of what I want to do is that I have so many interests in so many different areas (art, language, music, etc.) that I'm having trouble focusing on one thing that I "want to do." I expected him to give me the typical "hmmm.... I see" like a doctor after receiving the list of symptoms from the patient and then to spout off a cliche solution to my "problem," but that wasn't what he did at all. In fact, he seemed almost pleased with my answer. He mentioned that we all have to have a job that "pays the rent" but we should also continue to pursue what we love even if it doesn't make the money, and sometimes what we love will start making money and we can dump the other job. He began by telling me that he had corresponded with Jim Davis, the writer of Garfield, over the summer. (I thought to myself "Does this really have to do with me, or is it just a story he likes to tell?") The story actually had quite a good point. Long story short, Jim Davis never had any idea that people would even like Garfield, let alone that it would explode into the multi-million dollar thing that it is today. The reason Jim got to where he is today is because of his philosophy on life. He says, "Do what makes you happy, whether it is gardening, selling, or writing.... If you do something constructive that makes you happy, you'll work harder. The harder you work, the better you get. The better you get, the better you'll do. Success is bound to accompany the happiness." Mr. Carpino told me that it's all about having a vision or a plan. He said that when he was in graduate school he sat down and wrote out a plan of all the things he wanted to do. He got a little crazy on the details, even down to what kind of office he would have and what the view from his window would be! I don't think I'll take it that far, but the idea is really good. He said that writing out a plan makes it a lot easier to accomplish what you want. He said that years later he looked back at what he had written and like 95% of it was accurate to what actually happened. "So I would advise you to make a plan" he said. I told him that I've been messing around with some ideas lately, and he asked what they were. So I told him about Rex and Marti and their furniture shop, and how Marti and I have talked about me possibly working for them over the summer. I told him that I could totally see myself in that kind of job because I would absolutely love it. I could see myself having a job like that (maybe not that exact job, but a similar one) full time because I would enjoy it and it would make the necessary money, and then I could do other things on the side like photography and sing in a choir or work with a kids choir and maybe even teach a class here and there. Most teachers and professors, I think, would find my ideas a little random and lacking focus, but he seemed to think I was right on track. He called me an "aligned" person, which to him is a great thing to be. He said it's a great quality to have and there aren't many people who are truly aligned. That definitely boosted my confidence a little! So I'm starting to sort through things a little better now, and I'm really glad I didn't come away feeling like I'm wasting my time being here or being in Education. In not so many words, Mr. Carpino implied that it was fine if I never "used" my major. That makes me happy. He told me "Don't let the nay-sayers discourage you from doing what you want to do." I was like, "yeah, they're the ones who hate their jobs anyway!" So I am greatly encouraged today. I am convinced that I will have a wonderful life with a job that I enjoy, or at least a job that makes money and hobbies I enjoy! It's a good day.