Though this post has very little to do with teaching or my classroom, I think it has everything to do with what corps members (at least those coming straight out of college) experience.
I have more freedom now than I ever have before in my life. Until now, my life has been fairly well laid-out–or, at least, there have been strict parameters on what I should (or should not) do. In high school, there were clear expectations as to the classes that I should take, organizations I should participate in, and what I needed to do in order to prepare for college. Where there was choice (should I take AP Physics or AP Chemistry?), there were easily numerable options. In college, there were more options, but again, they were numerable–do I take statistics this semester or next? Do I take Spanish or Italian to fulfill this credit? Do I join this sorority or that one? There was a finite set of majors from which to choose and organizations in which I could participate, and it was reasonably simple to narrow those down into things that would be of interest to me. Even upon graduation, there were a few clearly preferable options–Teach for America, of course, being chief among them.
Now that the end of the two-year commitment is in sight, I am faced with the dilemma: What do I do next? Where do I go from here? What now?!
So often, people say to me “You could do anything after Teach for America!” (or with such-and-such degree, or with your work ethic, et cetera ad nauseum). That, I’m afraid, is exactly the problem! There are now virtually no parameters on my future career/academic plans. There is nothing that is clearly labeled the “right” choice. I could do anything anywhere and for any length of time. The deciding factor in choosing one path over another is, quite simply “because I want to.”
That is a VERY scary concept. I am more free now than I have ever been before–I am untethered by romantic, familial, career, or academic obligations. I’ve never been in a position to do whatever I wanted simply because I wanted to.
So for now, the loose plans are to keep teaching (but in a city that is more palatable than Houston), then go to grad school and perhaps become a guidance counselor. I often feel like I make a better counselor than I do teacher, but I relish the teaching experience that I’m gaining now.
We’ll see.
