Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes

About this time last year, I finished my teacher education program and earned my state certification.

Many moons ago, my plan was to be a teacher. School took a very long time because I worked my way through. A credential program was put on the back burner for a more "practical" career in business due to family pressure and the simple sense of working and getting paid for it. After all, corporations don't expect you to work for free for a full semester to earn a place within their hallowed halls.

So, I got my BA and continued to work. I hated the trappings of corporate life. Every single little piece of every single day. But, I just assumed everyone hated it, so I carried on.

In 2007, the company I was working for announced that they would be closing my office in the near future. This was before the economic meltdown, and although we were the most profitable division in the company, there were internal political issues galore about having an office in the location where I happened to work. We all saw this coming, and it was during this time that I really looked into finishing my credential. I figured out exactly how much money I would need, how quickly I could do it and stockpiled the money.

So, I got accepted into my teacher education program in the Fall of 2007 and became a full-time student the following Spring. Murphy's Law kicked in and while I was going to school full-time, excited about a new career, the economy was sinking. For better or worse, on my very first day of student teaching in second grade, I knew I was finally in the right place. Unfortunately, as I finished and looking for a job, schools were laying off teachers in very scary numbers.

So, here I am. Credential in hand for a year, at one of the worst times in recent memory to be making life changes. I'm subbing and earning valuable experience, even liking it, but hoping that the next school year brings me my own little patch of education.