Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Someday when I grow up, I want to be...

I have a whole list of things that I want to be someday, you know, when I grow up. In fact, back in high school, when everyone kept asking me the million dollar question, I was convinced that I wanted to be a nutritionist or a dietician. But, I was even more convinced that I was going to go to Manchester College. Basically, those two convictions didn't match up. MC definitely doesn't offer anything along the lines of nutrition/dietetics. MC won, and none the worse off was I. I went with what is probably my more natural love--English. As I look back on some pretty serious choices that I've made, career-wise, I scoff at my ability to make these decisions. Why did I want to be a nutritionist/dietician? Because I like food. Why did I want to go into English? Because I had an awesome English teacher who made me think that I knew something about the subject. (By way way, contrary to what is perhaps popular myth...just because you like English doesn't mean that you're a) good at grammar or b) that you ever learned grammar or c) that you even now know the rules of grammar.) Decision made. MC bound I was with a determination to learn more English. Reading books is how I like to spend my homework time. Studying and memorizing facts is not.

I definitely was NOT going to teach when I crossed the portal of my first English class at Manchester. No way. My mom was a teacher and people assume that I would thus want to also be a teacher and really what else do English people do but teach and seriously, aren't you also going to be a teacher??? NO. Pressure from the parentals perhaps helped changed my thinking there. Sophomore year found me shadowing real, honest to goodness, living, breathing English teachers in surrounding schools, hating every second of the time I had to sit at the back of the classroom and watch someone else teach. Nevertheless, I felt okay about my decision. Really, it was something of a part-time job in my mind until I got to do what I really wanted to do. WHAT DO I REALLY WANT TO DO?

My when-I-grow-up-someday-this-is-what-I-want-to-do list currently includes:
1. barista...good news, I may have a chance to actually do this over the summer
2. nutritionist...I still am somewhat interested in this for one of my other personalities
3. pastry chef
4. owner of a baseball bar, especially one that doesn't cater to Cubs or Yankees fans
5. bed & breakfast proprietor
6. owner of a coffee shop/bakery/bookstore
7. various positions in academia
8. director of the study abroad program at MC...my current dreamiest dream job
9. editor

In the meantime, I'm trying to get ready to return to my classroom since May 22nd, 2009. It's been a while. I feel rusty. I'll essentially be a sub in my own class. And, I've never had ANY of these kids, which is really something of an oddity for this point in my career. How does one prepare for this? In thinking about how I'm going to handle my job with my daughter, I've kinda realized that I have another dream job that I never never never knew I wanted to do until relatively recently.

My ultimate dream job? Stay at home mom. With some sort of freelance something thrown in for good measure.

1 comment:

sarahesperanza said...

I'm with you for B&B proprietor. Let me know if you are ever seriously thinking of it- I'm in.