Hi All! It’s me … trying something new!
So, have you ever been asked what you want to be when you grow up? It’s a very popular question asked to very young children usually. Then they usually pick a favorite character or career path and use that as the basis for all aspects of their lives. That same answer is used over and over every time they are asked what they want to be when they grow up as they enter high school and on to their college studies. Somehow those first thoughts and answers get stuck in our heads as we try to pick our career paths or try to decide what we want to be and spend our lives doing.
But what do you think when you are asked that question and you are a half a century old? Like me. It’s usually the question asked to people who jump from one thing to another often or from one career to another. Yes, that is the question I often ask myself!
I grew up believing and thinking that I just wanted to be a mom. Then I thought I wanted to be a fashion designer, clothing and textiles major, and then I explored the travel industry and earned a certificate. I worked the front desk of some major hotels, and then worked with a few airlines. I finally became a school teacher. I have been going through many different changes as the years have gone by so I am not just a school teacher. I have studied many different things and have been interested in other subjects such as self-help interest and financial planning. That came about as I had to think about how was I going to retire? Will there be enough money from my pension to support myself. Will social security be there for me when I need it? I have been a single mom raising four wonderful children for most of my life so I had to learn things like how to buy my own home, and how to fix it. I love gardening and raising a garden mostly when the children were around to help me weed it. I have dabbled in the arts such as pencil drawing, chalk drawing, water color painting, making crafts and selling them. I ran a daycare when my babies were little and learned a little about running a business.
So, as my birthdays take me past half a century, I can’t help but ask myself what I want to be when I grow up?
What should I do as I head toward retirement? Do I still want to try teaching until I’m so old and I can’t see or hear my students? Do I want to pursue other career paths? And If I do, how do I start over? These thoughts have been wandering around my head these past few years.
During teacher development training I attended the last couple of days, we as “Teacher Leaders” were asked how do we inspire and motivate other teachers for change to make our school cultures better. Again my musings began and I wondered how I could do that. One of our first challenges was to set a goal of what we would do the first day of school to build relationships with new teachers or veteran teachers to support them. So my goal was simple. I would first introduce myself to start to build a relationship with them just like I would with my students. So, here I am trying to decide how to introduce myself. To introduce myself, I have to decide who I am. Who am I? What am I? Who do I want to become? How do I describe myself? Do I list all my interests and achievements? Maybe I talk about all my experiences?
So as I went to Google for my answer, like I do so many times, I ran across a Ted Talk that jumped out at me called, “Why Some of Us Don’t Have One True Calling” by Emilie Wapnick. https://www.ted.com/talks/emilie_wapnick_why_some_of_us_don_t_have_one_true_calling
As I listened to that, not only was I entertained but her message resonated with me. Yes, that’s who I am! A Multipotentialite! It’s a person with many different interests and creative pursuits. She shares her powerful message and defines who this type of person is. I came to the conclusion that this is the type of person I am also. As we grow older, our perspectives change, our interests change, we change.
During the teacher development training there was a lot of discussion about being intentional and reflective about what we do. We were asked to keep a reflective journal. I did not want one more assignment or task or initiative put on my plate. So, I have been thinking about this and think I have come up with a fun and creative way to keep my reflective journal and be more intentional and reflective in my own life as well as my teaching practice. I am going to tie it in to my self-study about the medical billing and coding industry I am learning about, my financial literacy pursuits, studies about becoming a better person, and my new found interest into the Cryptocurrencies. I am going to tie my many dimensional layers and aspects into one chronicle of my journey. I am going to dabble into blogging again!
I am a lifelong learner and have been trying to become more financially literate. I started way back in my earlier years into several network marketing companies. I came across the Steemit social media site while YouTubing and listening to a couple of videos about it and decided I can do that and tie it into all this other stuff I am trying to do and see how it goes. And guess what the first question I was asked as a new blogger on Steemit? Yes, you guessed it. I was supposed to introduce myself. I guess it is the universal thing to do when you are new to something, which I find myself doing often. Trying new things helps keep me alive! So once again I asked myself what I want to be when I grow up this time. Is that how I will introduce myself?
Like a Multipotentialite, I don’t think I have one true calling although being a teacher is definitely an important one. I think I have come up with a new identity. I am going with the definition of being a Multidimensional Teacher because there are so many different dimensions, aspects and sides to me.
So as I start this new adventure, I am going to share my reflections and musings of a multidimensional teacher searching for her next career and see where this journey takes me! … I am a Wife, a Mother, a Teacher living a multidimensional life searching for meaning while chasing interests, dreams and passions. Please join me!