When I began my freshman year in college in New York, I had one goal in mind; to live in the city and to make it as a journalist. I was on the right track as I secured internships with Paper Magazine my junior year and then both an art and editorial internship back to back with Time Inc. working at Teen People magazine. And then just a week into my senior year, 9/11 happened, and months later my grandfather died of cancer. I began questioning this path I was on. What mattered most to me? Did I really want this dream of NYC? Was I really ready for it? So I packed up, headed home to Florida, and then a month later headed out to Seattle, still very confused.
When I look back, as I’m in the midst of my 6th year of teaching, I often think about how I could have used a bit of perspective as a confused 22-year-old, fresh out of college. Here is what I wish I knew back then:
1. Don’t laugh off career advice. I took a colloquium in college, where I pretty much made up my own major and had to back it up with 20 books of research, write a proposal, and sit around talking to professors of my choice about it all. At the end, they asked me what my plans were after college. I told them I didn’t know. One of my mass media professors, with whom I’d taken several classes, said he could see me being a teacher. I laughed and said it wasn’t for me. So of course three years later, as I applied to grad school to become a teacher, he laughed a bit as I asked him to write me a letter of recommendation. He was right. If only I had listened to him a little sooner. Perspective.
My stint as a barista, circa 2004.
2. Sometimes you’ve got to slum it for a while. When I first moved out to Seattle, I applied all over for jobs in marketing and PR so I could use my journalism skills. I got interviews, and kept being told they liked me, but this other person had more experience. Well, I ran out of money and had to take a job to pay the rent. I spent nearly a year at Best Buy, and then about two years as a barista. And really, that latter job near the University of Washington is what opened me up to going back to school. Was I using what my expensive undergraduate degree gave me? Nope. But taking these jobs gave me time to figure it all out. Perspective.
3. It’s okay if you studied one thing as an undergraduate, but ended up in a new career. I beat myself up for awhile over not going into a career related to journalism. Based on the financial investment in my degree alone, I felt guilt. But once I started teaching, I let that go, because I was using a lot of what I learned with writing and humanities as an English teacher. I find myself working now very part time as a freelance writer, and feel blessed to have the best of both worlds. Perspective.
4. Be open to change. When I went into teaching, I did so because of my love of writing. In fact, I saw myself as the high school newspaper teacher one day. Of course as a newbie teacher you generally don’t get to choose. At the end of my fourth year of teaching, I put in for a transfer out of Alternative Ed and found myself distraught because I was being placed in middle school, teaching reading intervention. A year and a half into this new gig as a reading intervention teacher, I can’t see myself anywhere else, and have even begun looking into becoming a reading specialist. Perspective.
5. Life events don’t hinder your career forever. My first year of teaching, my husband and I got married, and bought a house. My second year, we got pregnant. My third year, we had a baby. My fourth year, my aunt suddenly passed away. My fifth year, I began teaching at a new school with brand new curriculum. Now in my sixth year of teaching, I’m starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. I’m starting to take on more in my profession. I’m starting to gain confidence, and beginning to feel more comfortable in this profession. During those first 5 years of teaching, I don’t know if I would have ever said that this was possible. But with time and determination, all the stars are starting to align. Perspective.
What about you? Did you start off with one career in mind, but end up somewhere else? What have you learned about yourself the longer you’ve been in the professional world?
This post is part of BlogHer’s Success Tips For My Younger Self editorial series, made possible by Kaplan.
LOVE THIS!
Oh, the things we could tell our 22 yr old selves… But, of course, we already knew everything at 22…
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Of course we already knew everything back then
Twitter: wa_tracy
This is a great post Tracy — and so true. Sometimes the path we planned for doesn’t pan out exactly as we had originally thought it would!
I went to school with the sole purpose of becoming a high school teacher. I wanted to teach at my hometown high school — Government, Yearbook, and Driver Ed. When I finished my undergrad, there wasn’t a job available, so I went to back to school for my Masters and seriously considered law school. It’s a long story, but everything fell into place in one big swoop. I was hired at my hometown high school (teaching all of the above), bought a house, remodeled said house, got married, all in a six month period. Crazy town!
I loved my job at the high school (especially because I was lucky enough to work with one of my very best friends) but ended up transitioning to online after Bo was born. Prior to Bo’s birth I’d never seriously considered not working full-time or an alternative to high school teaching. This definitely isn’t where I pictured myself when I graduated from college — but I have to admit that it works for me.
It may feel crazy when we are going through it — but I do think we end up right where we need to be!
Thanks Jamie! It truly is crazy to think about all these ideas we had for ourselves when we were so young, only to look back and see what transpired. And I wouldn’t have it any other way!
Twitter: wa_tracy
I love this post because I think everyone can relate to your message of “perspective”. I know I do! I also began college as a journalism major with aspirations to become a news anchor (can’t believe it now, but it’s true) or journalist in NYC (sigh). But one day as I was sitting in Psych 101, my professor said three words: “industrial organizational psychology.” That was it, I was hooked. I changed my major, starting doing research, and went straight to grad school and never looked back! It’s incredible how we shape our lives and how our life’s experiences shape us. I wouldn’t have it any other way. But I would definitely have told my 22-year old self a few other things… like don’t pierce your belly button!
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I probably should have told my 17 year old self not to pierce my belly button
But yes, perspective for the win. I have a lot of that lately. Gets me through the day sometimes.
Twitter: wa_tracy
I have had so many different plans since graduating from college in NYC in 2007. I was so sure, every time, that I had found My Path. Now, I find myself blogging for no pay and caring for my four-month-old son. It was an easy choice–working in child care didn’t pay me enough to actually pay for child care for my own kid. Absurd child care wages/prices aside, I now feel great about writing again (one of many past plans). A teacher from college just told me in an email that she knew I was a writer from day 1. Who knows? But your advice is excellent. All of it. I would have saved myself some tears if I had known this, then.
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I would totally have saved a lot of angst as well. But I have to remind myself that life is all about the process. I wouldn’t be where I am now without all that I went through, you know. Thanks for reading
Twitter: wa_tracy
When were you working in the U District? I was bar tending there (College Inn and Big Time) fall 2003 to spring 2004 while “honing my reporter skills” after college (read: delaying the whole get-a-real-job thing). I wonder if we ever ran into each other? So funny, I was studying to be an astrophysicist and wound up as a journalist, recently turned media relations manager (being a mom and a reporter was just too tough, something had to give). I wish I could go back to that girl behind the bar who was too uncertain to just make the leap into life and tell her to stop worrying and just enjoy the ride a little more.