I remember reading about Native American tribesmen who were sent on a journey at a certain age so they could have a vision for what their life was to be. As I write this on my daughter's fourth birthday, I find myself looking back at my life as a long pathway to a vision I probably first imagined in high school. In every dream I concocted on my own, my future involved the ending of "and retiring to teach what I've learned" because I knew I wanted to teach, but I had been duped into believing that one cannot teach and provide well for one's family. I had also been taught regularly the worldly mantra's of "those who can't do, teach" and "business professors are where they are because they couldn't make it in the real world." I have come to see the fallacy in those thoughts. After all, if teachers were really so awful, why should we entrust our own education to them (let alone our children's, but that's a completely separate story). Honestly, if the men and women who taught me were so terrible, then how come I still look back at what I learned from them with so much admiration? Now I see the great teachers in my life and they mark so many of the milestones I have passed. Yet, that is not what struck me today as I talked to my wife on our drive home. I see now that my life has come to this point because now is when I am ready to pursue that dream I was too afraid to believe I could before. I have tried and failed to live the dream of my brother - though I think the writing skills I developed will help my dream. I have tried and succeeded in some ways to pursue a dream my father gave me with my business - and I have definitely learned from the failures and successes that came with that job. Now I can use those skills learned from the borrowed dreams and accomplish my own dream: I will teach. I will be good at it. I will research, and come to enjoy that as much if not more than teaching. I will become what I was always meant to be. I can return to the tribe, having seen my vision on my long journey, and take my name: professor.
-- Robert
4 comments:
What an awesome post. You really have honed skills and insight. I really wish you well with this next phase and hope you'll keep us up to regular date, although having a few friends who blog return to school I know that gets tough.
You ought to submit this somewhere.
Thanks for your remarks. Maybe this post will become part of my "statement of purpose" that is part of basically every application.
I will do my best to continue to blog, but I can't make any promises. I imagine I will have plenty of writing outlets as it is. I'm sure Ellie will still be blogging, though.
I agree with Julie. This was great.
Yeah, you'll be busy. But something tells me you'll find a way to keep in touch. :)
Thanks, Melissa. I have had a website for eleven plus years now, and I've tried to use it as a vehicle to keep people aware of the goings on in my life. That was hard, though. Now, with a blog, it's about the same as writing an email to the world, so it's been a lot easier. So yeah, I'll probably manage, but I doubt I'll be a daily (or even four times a week) poster at that point.
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