Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Who Were You Meant To Be?

I sometimes think about how simple decisions have the capability of altering the course of your life. When I was a senior in college, a few months before graduation, I was called into the Dean of Humanities office. She also happened to be one of my professors whom I had taken multiple literature and writing courses from over the years. She had submitted multiple samples of my writing to a friend who was a technical writer and that friend offered me a job. While I was interested, I had just accepted an English teaching job at a local high school in the area, so I turned the writing job down.

I went on to teach (and loved it at the time) and coach. I met my husband because I was the Women’s Basketball Coach and he was one of the Men’s Basketball coaches. Had I not taught it is unlikely that I would have ever met my husband and been blessed with the two wonderful children we have today. It is almost as if once I made the decision to teach the rest fell into place. It was meant to be.

I wonder, though, how things would have turned out had I accepted the writing position instead. Would I still have somehow eventually met and married my husband or would I have met and married someone else? Would I still be single? I don't know and to be honest I wouldn’t want to find out.

While I sometimes think that I maybe would have been happier professionally had I taken that writing position I know personally that the choice I made was the right one and for that I’d do it all over again.

Are there any decisions that you have made that you feel have significantly altered the course of your life? Would you make the same decision if given the chance to do it over?

5 comments:

Gena B. said...

I met my husband in college after I transferred. If I had stayed at my first school I think I probably would have married someone else. It's little decisions here and there that end up shaping our lives.

Trippy Hippy said...

I believe all decisions are made for a reason b/c that is the life we are meant to lead. If we chose differently then that would be the life we were meant to lead.
I do second guess my professional decisions more than my personal ones.

Nancy said...

The catalyst in my professional and personal life was leaving the first job I got out of college after 5.5 years. I went to a job with employees my age, in a bigger city which caused me to see life in a whole different way, break up with a dead-end boyfriend of 4.5 years, meet new friends one of whom I ended up moving in with as well as planning my fateful vacation with that led to meeting my future husband.

Emerald said...

It is never too late to realize a dream. Teaching was one dream and now for dream number two.

Joanne said...

I'd probably make the same choices as well. Isn't it funny how, if we stop to really think about past decisions, there's not too much we'd change, but we become more in tune with ourselves for future decisions.