Ten Blogs 'til 47: You Can Be Anything You Want to Be!

First of all, bullshit. You absolutely cannot be anything you want to be. As one of my students reminded me, if I wanted to be a dolphin, I could not be a dolphin. UNLESS that dolphin was a member of the Miami Dolphins and, therefore, a professional football player which... We all KNOW I could not be. So, let's stop the madness. Truer statements:

1. You can do great things.
2. Goals are attainable if you work hard.
3. Set the bar higher than even you think you can reach and you will not disappoint yourself.
4. Choose a career you love and you will never work a day in your life. (Full disclosure: I don't know who said that first but it was not me.)

I believe, at 47 years old, those four things have been true in my life. I have done great things. Unimaginable even. Stuff I never thought I would do. Things I didn't know to dream. I have reached and surpassed many goals. I have higher expectations for myself than I do for others. Although I am not sure others don't have even higher expectations for me because I have disappointed some people in my lifetime. I have chosen three careers that I have loved. And I have quit two of them when they started to feel too much like work and not enough like pure joy.

In my current career as a teacher, I find joy in about nine out of every ten days. But on the tenth day, I think, "I DON'T WANT TO DO THIS ANY MORE." I am sure saying that (or typing it) out loud is treasonous but I don't care because, my friends, IT IS THE TRUTH. Yesterday was a day ten for me. Teaching is the hardest job I have ever had for many reasons but the top reason is that you work daily to put children in a position of success that sometimes will call you a bitch or record you and put you on snapchat calling you a fat ass or lie to their parents or other teachers about how horrible you are. And it is still your job to make sure they are successful. Let me be clear. I love my students. They do not always return the love. Yesterday, was a day ten. So I started thinking, if there was time for a few more careers, what would they be and I came up with a list of ten. Here you go:

1. Full-time Author
2. Principal
3. State Representative
4. Movie Producer
5. Secretary of Education
6. Owner of a Non-Profit Ad Agency with a portfolio of clients that worked to make life better for the disadvantaged or underprivileged
7. Events or Tour Manager in the Music Industry
8. Travel Writer
9. Public Speaker
10. Independently Wealthy Philanthropist