Detour Now

When most of us was younger, a teacher or another adult asked us what we wanted to be when we grew up. Some of us knew from an early age what we wanted to do while others needed more time to figure it out. Even when some of us thought we had it together, life got in the way and we had to detour. According to www.thefreedictionary.com, a detour is a deviation from a direct course of action or a roundabout way or course. Sometimes our life doesn't go the way we expect or plan. If I could have had it my way, I would have gone to college, possibly law school (that was one of my career goals), gotten married and then had children. Instead, I went to college, came home due to lack of finances, got pregnant, worked in the hotel industry and the beauty industry and now in the field of education. In every corporate job I had, the task of training new employees. Sometimes this task came with an extra buck or two in pay, but more often than not it was done pro bono. I did not know or really understand how to negotiate higher pay. Once my daughter started school, I returned to school as well. That is when I decided to pursue that first career I said I wanted to be when I was younger. That was a teacher. The journey has been long and arduous but I persevered. I took the road less traveled and I am grateful for my experiences. So many times along the way my daughter would ask me "What do you want to be when you grow up?" My daughter will be going off to college in the fall and I am asking myself that same question she asked me so many times before. What do I want to be when I grow up? Do I want to stay the course or is time to detour once again?