Overwhelming Indecision
Recently, I've been trying to make up my mind about the future of my career. I don't really have to make a choice for a year, but I need to work towards both of my potential jobs simultaneously, which seems counterproductive: I know I will eventually choose one over the other and only the effort I exerted toward that goal will be justified.

I spent all of last week believing, again, that I should go into law. The two fields that I'm interested in are child advocacy and immigration law, or a combination of both, protecting the rights of illegal children. Watching the protests, which were prevalent in Tucson schools, I felt that this career was even more critical.

On the other hand, now I'm thinking that I can find professional challenge and development in teaching. There are many conferences where I can meet the best ESL teachers and researchers in the country. And, at the suggestion of my grandpa:), I might eventually begin researching and publishing. I love my job and I honestly want to do as much as I can to do it better... my students are just like my grandparents, who learned English for the first time in school. Liberal that I am;), I want to make my students' transition into U.S. life much less painful than theirs. Every child who lives in this country deserves to receive the same education, which is only possible with ESL.

My biggest fear (in my profession) is stagnation and the potential for being boxed into a corner. I swear, "Death of a Salesman" ruins any idealism about working! So I never want to be in a position where I have only one option and it's not a satisfying choice. Right now, I'm going to continue studying for the LSATs (which is fun, in a hyper-nerd way... I want to write the terminology on flashcards and stick them on the wall for practice!) and I will continue my professional development as an ESL teacher. Soon, I will have to decide if I want another 1-year substitute position or move to a different school for an "actual" position. At least that's the only choice I need to make right now.

I just redid my white-board calendar and I realized that I have 9 days before testing starts! And the second week is Holy Week, which is my absolutely favorite time of year. Then, for the rest of the month and into May, all I need to do is test. Which is obviously an extreme waste of time for me and for my students, but it does mean no lesson planning for 3 weeks, which means leaving school at 3:30pm everyday! I am soooo going to whip myself into shape;)




















This is where I'll be running everyday...it's gorgeous.