What's Love Got To Do With It?

I know there are still two weeks until VDay, but starting today in school everything is hearts, love, and red all over so I thought, what a better way to kick off the month than talking about doing stuff we absolutely love! Eating chocolate, watching chick flicks, shopping with friends, going on romantic dates..the list can go on and on.

Notice that I didn't mention "work" among those things. I mean come on, raise your hand if you absolutely love going to work on daily basis...anyone...anyone...Bueller? My point exactly. Don't get me wrong, there are people who enjoy what they do for a living, but would they prefer being at the office on a Saturday night instead of at the beach or at a bar? I doubt it.

I'm not writing this post to rant and rave about how awful my job is because actually I am pretty lucky. I am one of few young working women who found their passion very early and life and went for it. Sure there are bumps along the way (different major in college, interview after interview, hiring freezes, etc) but I absolutely love teaching. I really do. The school I am in right now is not ideal and the position may be a step down from my last, but as I listen to my iPod on my drive in to work, I am not dreading the next few hours. I love seeing the smiles on the kids faces, drying their tears when they fall, helping them write their names for the first time, and most importantly the exciting moment when that child who we were told would never have the muscle strength to pull himself up and walk takes his first steps with perfection (I swear, it happened last week, not a dry eye in the room).

So why not do something you love?

I'm thinking about going to Australia next September to teach there for a year. Is it a huge risk? Yes. Do I have the funds? Probably not. Is it really smart to leave my secure job? Not at all. Am I 25 and young and love to teach and want to experience as much out of life as I can without regrets or excuses to hold me back? Absolutely.

So if you've been thinking of changing career paths, I say go for it. If you'd rather strive to work your way up in the job you have now, go for it! This article from Women Today gives some advice on how to love the job you already have. You're only young once and you have the rest of your life to work, so why not enjoy sitting in the traffic on your way to work or smile as you're plowing through the snow as you walk the city streets to your office building. To this day my 60-year-old father still says he doesn't know what he wants to do with his life. He never found his passion or went for his dream job (coaching a professional football team) and he regrets it.

So here's a fun question...if you could do anything in the world, without any strings attached, what would be your ideal profession? Honestly. If tomorrow you could be transported to a job you always dreamt of having what would it be? Besides teaching some of my dream jobs would be...a dolphin trainer, a magician (with a sexy male assistant), a tv producer, or a Rockette.

Then ask yourself...is it really that impossible? These jobs exist for a reason. They are tangible. The lyrics: "Some say I'm a dreamer...but I'm not the only one". Just something to think about...