Life.

SIDE BAR: This was written 3 or 4 months ago, and since writing this, I have begun my first year working part time for Aledo as solely a coach at the middle school, and I devote the rest of my time to crafting and selling items on Etsy.  Unpredictably - I'm happy as a lark right now and things worked out this way for a reason!



Ahh...life. It's interesting, isn't it?  When you're a kid, you think you have it all figured out.  Then, time flies by, and suddenly you're almost 30 and life isn't quite what you imagined it to be when dreaming of being an actress or a lawyer at 7 years old.  This is by no means me saying that I don't love my life, because I do.  I've been blessed beyond measure in my 29 years, and I'm grateful for everything that I have and for the people in my life.  But for someone who used to be completely independent and career-driven, I have lost a part of myself somewhere along the way.

After college, I went to grad school.  During grad school, I met the man who would become my husband.  I worked for about a year after grad school before beginning my teaching certification, and after my first year as a teacher, Miles and I got married.  Did I go to school to teach and coach?  Um...no.  How did I end up here?  I ask myself that question all the time, and I can't come up with a better answer than "instant gratification."  I HATED my first job after grad school.  The hours were horrible, and I answered phone calls from angry, confused, and hostile customers every day for squat as far as pay.  What I didn't think about at the time was the fact that it was simply a stepping stone.  You have to start somewhere.  I became impatient.  I grew up with the best coach of all time in my house, and I saw my sister going into the same business.  Was that what I was meant to do as well?  Online teaching certification course?  BINGO.  I figured I'd give it a shot.  Summers off?  Sounds like a plan.

What I didn't know was the unfortunate situation that public schools currently face.  I didn't realize I'd disagree with the way that the schools are being run by the government, how state testing is the be-all-end-all for students (and they now create tests fully expecting half the students to fail!), how technology is a blessing but also a curse for adolescents, and how so many teachers feel trapped and unhappy with their current positions.  Do I really want to do this for the rest of my life?

That brings me to where I am today. Four years later and I'm wondering why on earth I'm not working in the communications sector.  I once saw myself becoming Samantha Jones, PR extraordinaire.  I don't know what happened to that dream, but I am ready to rediscover that passion I once had for writing...for communicating.  I'm so lost without it that I've devoted a huge amount of energy creating a website for Texas Rangers female fans.  It brings me joy to write about and apply my focus to something I love.  It just so happens that sports are what I love, and the Texas Rangers have stolen the #1 sports spot in my heart from my beloved LSU Tigers.

Apart from the site, I'm actively applying for jobs, but it's tough to find an entry-level PR/communications position coming off a four year teaching stint.  If only employers knew the extreme tactics of communicating I had to take on when it came to angry parents, and how I used PR every single day in an effort to convince 13 year old kids that history IS important.  If only employers knew how adept I've become at coping with stressful situations and dealing with co-workers, parents and students.  I'm confident enough to know that I am going to be good at whatever it is that I do, and I'm always going to give 100%, no matter what.  The problem with job searching these days is that you blindly send in a resume online, then companies have people that scan the resumes looking for certain buzz words, and the likelihood that your resume will contain precisely what they want to see is seemingly one in a million.  So what's a girl to do?

I'll pray about it, and I'll continue working hard at everything I do.  I'm a firm believer that everything happens for a reason, and this slight bump in the road will eventually work itself out.  I will focus on the great things in my life, and I'll be thankful for the life I live.  And, I'll keep hope that one of these millions of resumes I send out will have that perfect buzz word that someone, somewhere is seeking!