So . . . I Got a Job

That seems weird to even type.

After successfully avoiding the paid workforce for most of the last 26 years, I am once again gainfully employed. And today is my first day.

I've been hired to tutor one 9th-grade student in English and World History, twice a week for two hours each time--plus an almost two-hour round-trip commute. I'm breaking my working self in slowly, you might say.

I wasn't actively looking for a job, but the school called me and asked if I would be available to help them in this extenuating circumstance. After thinking about the time commitment and after talking it over with Brad, I decided to accept. I had to fill out some paperwork, get fingerprinted, and take a not-so-grueling three-hour English-teaching competency test, and that was it. I was hired.

It's crazy how happy this small job opportunity has made me. It's brought priorities into focus and dormant passions to the surface. What it's really done is this--

It's reminded me that my heart is in the classroom. I love teenagers and their energy. I love sharing what I know with others. I love History and English. Mostly, I love learning--just about anything. And I love watching the lightbulb turn on in others.

I don't know if this will lead to a permanent position or if it's a one-time shot at this point. What I do know is that if ASU accepts me into their doctoral program and I get extended a contract to teach, my heart may no longer be in academia but in academics.

It's going to be a tough call.