Life’s directions & twisted plans…
I’ve always been one to have a plan, any plan, not always good ones, but plans non-the-less. It was easy to plan when I was in high school; any teenager can tell you that they certainly have plans, and they are sure to work since they are their own! I too had those plans, dreams and goals… Why couldn’t I be president? How about that fireman or police officer? Oh… oh… better yet… how about a teacher? ----> NOT!!! Who in their right mind wants to be a teacher today… they don’t get paid enough, are underappreciated, and I disliked most of them in high school.
When I graduated from high school, my first thoughts were in making my plan of getting away from the establishment as fast as possible a reality. That meant getting out of my parent’s home and out into the ‘real world’, able to stay up as late as I wanted to, and do what-ever I could without my parents telling me ‘No’! Well, I did just that… I joined the Marine Corps, moved hundreds and thousands of miles away, stayed up as late as I wanted; did what I wanted without “a” parent telling me I couldn’t…
It actually became clear to me then, that this was not a good plan… couldn’t think of a better one at the time, but knew this wasn’t “the one”. God, fate, luck, karma… what-ever you wish to call it decided to create another plan for me, one that actually put me on a path that I would have never foreseen as a teenager; not in a million years. Firstly, I became a father, and parenthood will change any ideas, plans or dreams you may have had previously within that small, wonderfully made, quiet heartbeat immediately.
Years later: a father to three, husband, honorably discharged, bread-winner, mortgage holder, and salesman, I was given a glimpse into the hint of a plan leading me to continue my education and striving for “something” else besides a 9-5, potentially dead-end job. With this ‘path’ unwinding in front of me; an MBA, a sole-proprietor and having the opportunity to use and showcase my sales experience in a class-room setting as an adjunct faculty member of my alma-matter… a teacher… go figure…
Six years later, working on a PhD, full-time faculty… Oh yeah, still a mortgage holder, now too, a student loan holder, etc. etc… I’m in the classroom enjoying the very reasons why my original (teenage) plans went awry… I’m a college professor – a teacher; basking in the gifts provided and loving the ability that the Lord gave me to use those very experiences of MY failed plans, able to now give pertinent business related information to other generations… fully aware that my student’s idea of their respective plans just may be far, far different than their future reality.
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i am of the belief that everything happens for a reason. Although it is human nature to come up with a detailed plan of exactly how our futures will take place (as a college student I have a more than elaborate plan of what my ideal future will look like), I often find it beneficial that we stray from our intended plans and head in a new direction. I think that is part of the fun, the exploration of life.
fencer07,
Amen. I agree that plans are necessary, but it is the joy of life when those plans take us in directions we were not even aware of previously... hence further learning.
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"Can you imagine what I would do if I could do all I can?” (Sun Tzu)
You wouldn't be the first teacher who didn't plan on being a teacher in high school. There was some student who hated Math who became a Math teacher...and some other stories of students who wanted anything but returning to school.
that's true. What I find the most ironic though, is that there are many things that I never planned on... yet they became my reality sooner and/or later.
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"Can you imagine what I would do if I could do all I can?” (Sun Tzu)