Actually?

Well, obviously, the hard part about all of this is actualizing all of it – becoming what you want to be and being your best. I have certain core values that guide me in my life, most specifically empathy, altruism, doing the right thing, being non-judgmental and open-minded, and honing my intelligence to help other people. These values are pretty much why I’ve decided to become a teacher – I always saw myself doing something that serves other people and helps others to reach their best self. I’m a fairly intelligent person – I’ve always been self-motivated, I always liked school, I care about things, and try to make sure I understand all sides of various topics and viewpoints. I feel like I was given this intelligence for a reason. I feel like I’m meant to use it to help other people and make some kind of difference in this crazy world. But the question is and has always been: what the heck am I supposed to do to achieve this? What career choice or goal will allow me to help people, make a difference, and use my intelligence in a constructive important way? I considered law school for awhile – some kind of law that helps people and that would cause me to be drastically poor but incredibly happy. I considered something to do with politics. I considered going into the non-profit field (incidentally, my first job after college was a non-profit company that helped people gather information on their elected officials to make an informed vote (http://www.votesmart.org). Finally, after a couple of years of just working at some normal, terrible corporate job, I realized the right place for me would be education. I want to parlay my passion for English literature (and the topics and discussions that literature can bring about) into something that helps kids to find their own passions and find their own way to give a damn about something. I want to help kids see that they don’t have to just work for money – they can expect more of their lives and more of themselves. This is what would really allow me to feel like I made some kind of difference to somebody, and know that I helped someone in my life. Self-actualization for me is the day when I realize I’ve done that and the day that all of these crazy mixed up things in my head make sense and come to fruition in the form of at least one student who has their own “A HA” moment. Maybe then I will know I “actually” succeeded at my goals.