March 14, 2007

• Have you lived the life you wanted to live?

  HAVE YOU LIVED THE LIFE YOU WANTED TO LIVE?

  Tell usabout what you feel that you have accomplished.  What dreams did youhave as a child that you’ve fulfilled?   If not, what more do you wantto accomplish and what is it you need in order to accomplish it?  Whenyou are aged and a young person asks you this question, what do youhope your response will be?

  If you arevery young (teens, twenties, early thirties), what accomplishments areyou working towards or what dreams do you hope to accomplish beforeyour 40′s?

  
  

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  So the Kween’s latest challenge is up. Please stop by the Kween_of_Queens site to read the other great entries. Mine is a day late (What can I say — finals), but I’m hoping that it will still be accepted — maybe the Kween can deduct a grade or knock 10 points off?? (a little teacher humor there – sorry).
  
  Have I lived the life you wanted to live?
  The short answer – no.
  The long answer is a little more complicated.
  
  The truth is I’m living a life that is so much more full than I could have ever expected. When I was a kid, I wanted a kid’s ideal life. Filled with material comforts, friends and partying. I wanted glamorous careers that were world changing. I wanted excitement, prestige and travel.
  
  What I got was life to grow with. I got so much more than anything I ever dreamed of.
  I got family — much earlier than I ever expected, I married young when I was planning to marry later. Although we didn’t have children right away, it still gunked up my long term plans right off the bat. The war photo / journalist idea was obviously not going to work with a family… on to new ideas. To top that off college would be put on hold for too many years (most of you have heard that story).
  
  I did get the travel, but in a different way. I moved every three years or so. It gave me the opportunity to deal with a lot of things. Like I found out how much I hated change. I met new people, made new friends, got new jobs, learned new towns, and went to new schools. Was it difficult. Yes. Was it life changing, rewarding and memorable. Yes.
  
  I NEVER expected to become a teacher. When we finally started our family, I was surprised at how consumed by them I was. I loved having my life completely revolving around this little people and their love for all new things. As they grew and learned I found I was really good at helping them and others learn. I started in education at my daughter’s daycare when she was 2. Wow — that was over a decade ago. Eventually I changed my degree plan from Graphic Design (my backup since photo/journalism was out) to Early Childhood Education, and finally to Elementary Education. Next month when I graduate with my Master’s one of my lifetime goals will be topped with more than I ever hoped for.
  
  We still don’t have tons of material comforts, but we have all that we need and more.
  
  We travel — albeit sometimes reluctantly. We’ve been to 5 of the Hawaiian Islands, about 20 states and I’ve been to 6 other countries. I’ve learned what to pack and what is not necessary. I’ve seen so much and realized that the world is smaller than I thought, and more amazing than I could have ever dreamed.
  
  Most importantly, I have an amazing husband who after all these years is still my very best friend, and I have two fantastic daughters who continually make me proud and amaze me with their intelligence, humor, love, and wonderful personalities. I have family that I am close to, if not geographically then emotionally and mentally. I have friends all over the world who keep me laughing and bolster my spirits.
  
  There’s a saying that God has a bigger life for you than you could ever dream of.
  
  I’d say that is proven to me day after day.
  
  
  

  • 4:51 pm
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