When I was in my twenties, having finished undergraduate school with a major that wasn’t necessarily conducive to future employment, I needed a job. So I took a job in Customer Service with a local company. The pay was low, but I had no marketable skills other than a good phone voice, so I gladly took the job.

I stayed there for seven years. While grateful for employment, I was barely able to make a living. And I knew that I was working at something I ultimately cared nothing about. Though I loved my co-workers, I felt increasingly trapped in a job that wasn’t going anywhere. I wasn’t going anywhere. The years were passing, I was about to turn 30, and I felt like I was living a lie. That phrase, ‘living a lie’, may seem dramatic to you, but I can assure you it was very real indeed.

I knew I had to make a change or I would continue on the same path to nowhere. I wasn’t using any of the talents I had been blessed with. It was now or never.

I decided to apply to graduate school. If accepted, I would have to move to another state. I would be in school for three years and my life would dramatically change. It was a risk for this homebody. But I knew in the very core of my being that it had to be done. Once I made that decision, I was surprised and pleased to find that family and friends completely supported me in this move. They knew, even before I did, that I needed to make a change in my career path.

I was accepted in the program. Hurrah! I would be studying something that was a true passion of mine. I quit my job with the blessing of my employer. And I said goodbye to my old life. I’m not exaggerating when I say that making that move and going back to school changed my life completely. It was the single most important step that I took in building a career in the field I loved.

The education I received, the knowledge I gained and the degree I earned made it possible for me to work in the field of Education. It changed my life for the better. It opened up all sorts of opportunities for me, none of which would have been possible without that degree. I found work teaching at the university level; truly the most rewarding work I have ever done. Working with students, teaching, guiding and mentoring them has been so satisfying. I have taught at two universities in the intervening years and will be ever grateful that I was guided to go back to school and study what I was meant to study – to be the teacher I was meant to become.

Yes, it was risky. I left behind my family and friends and a way of life that was comforting in its routine. I started on a new journey.

It was worth it.
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