Coming Back to School Isn’t Easy – English Essay
I once read somewhere that it was typical for a person to change their career seven times over their lifetime. At the the time when I read it I remember thinking that it didn’t seem possible. But now, having a few more years behind me I do believe it is possible. Times change, lifestyles change and values change. People
change with the times and of course our career, which is a big part of our identity, change with it. At this point in our lives, we as a society spend a lot of time at work and I think some of us recognize that life is just too short to spend all that time doing something we don’t love or enjoy doing. This is why I changed careers and set on a path which I hope will lead me to a successfull career in Massage Therapy.
When I think back to my last years of high school it was very carefree when I needed someone to say to me “Hey! You have to think about your future! What are you going to do for the rest of your life?” My mind at that point only went as far as the end of school. At the end of school I ended up drifting in and out of meaningless jobs not knowing which direction I wanted to go because I had never thought of where I wanted to be. I had only ever thought about where I was. Soon something happened which would eventually set me on a path I never envisioned myself on. I got pregnant.
Having a child of course changed my life in ways in ways I never imagined possible. One way in which my life was changed is that I basically put any thoughts of a career on hold as I put all my energies towards this child. Having a child was a learning process and I learned many things about myself such as I’m a very nurturing person and I’m a very patient person. This would soon set me on a path in Early Childhood Education as I would start volunteering at my son’s preschool. It was something that I learned I was good at and I pursued that career because aspects of it made me so happy. Being around children was easy and fun, like being with my own child. It just made sense at the time.
I have been working with children for about five years now. I have preschool experience, daycare experience and I even ran a daycare out of my home for a short time. Now my children are getting older and slowly I came to realize that this wasn’t what I wanted to do anymore. There are downsides to this profession that get in the way of my happiness which I can’t ignore anymore. I started to feel like I needed a new challenge and I thought of pursuing Teaching but when I thought of spending the next thirty years of my working life doing just that, there was no excitement. Teaching was not for me. At the time when I had all these questions in my head I happened to get a massage. I really liked the interaction between therapist and client. I decided to find out as much as I could about the profession by reading and surfing the net and I liked what I was finding out. There was so much to Massage Therapy that I never knew about. Like a lot of people I had preconceived notions about the profession. I have always been interested in health and healing and entering into the Massage Therapy program allows me to pursue those interests.
I have to admit that it was intimidating coming back to school at this point in my life. I’m married and I have kids and bills! But there comes a time when you have to put yourself and your happiness first.