What is my next creative step?

I love having an outlet to express myself creatively. For some reason cleaning the house doesn't release the creative energy that I have locked within myself. Working doesn't do it for me either.

This is my eighth year of teaching and I love it in many ways and in some ways I am looking for change. Looking for a new inspiration.

Teaching has been very satisfying, but I want something more challenging in a different way. I want to be less mentally drained after a days work and I want to feel that I have created something tangible. As teachers our output, which is learning often doesn't get realized or appreiated until years later. I guess I am looking for a faster turnaround. I am also looking for more stimulation.

I myself am a lifelong learner and I know that my curiosity needs to be satisfied. I already have a B.A. and an M.A. I also know that I do not want a Ph.D in Education. I don't see that point of me getting one. I don't see it benifiting my career path. And that is the delema. Where do I go from here? I thought about getting an administrative credential, but I truly don't believe that is the right path for me. I just don't see myself ans the teacher with a 30-year long career. Again I love my job currently and I love working with my students, but I don't feel that this is my only journey.

What is my next creative step?

I love having an outlet to express myself creatively. For some reason cleaning the house doesn't release the creative energy that I have locked within myself. Working doesn't do it for me either. Cleaning/cooking/shopping/...for my home and teaching/lesson planning/grading/meetings/emails/...for my school seem never-ending.

This is my eighth year of teaching and I love it in many ways and in some ways I am looking for change. Looking for a new inspiration.

Teaching has been very satisfying, but I want a new challenge. I am searching for my next path in life. I do feel accomplished and successful as a teacher, but I am wondering if I can channel my mental and physical energy into something that is more lucrative for my family. I love working with other people’s children, but I want to be able to provide more financially for my own. I want to be less mentally drained after a days work and I want to feel that I have created something tangible and is a reflection of who I am as an individual. As teachers our output, which is learning often doesn't get realized or appreciated until years later. I have had these great moments that teachers dream of when a student comes back to you as an adult and apologizes for their adolescent misbehaviors and wants to reassure that they turned out to be a contributing member of society. It’s an awesome occurrence that happens when you least expect at the mall or at the local coffee shop. I do enjoy those memories, but I guess I am looking for a faster turnaround. I am also looking for more stimulation.

I myself am a lifelong learner and I know that my curiosity needs to be satisfied. I already have a B.A. and an M.A. I also know that I do not want a Ph.D in Education. I don't see that point of me getting one. I don't see it benefiting my career path. And that is the dilemma. Where do I go from here? I thought about getting an administrative credential, but I truly don't believe that is the right path for me. I just don't see myself as the teacher with a 30-year long career. Again I love my job currently and I love working with my students, but I don't feel that this is my only journey.

I feel that I have more in me to contribute in other ways. I am just waiting for the opportunity to present itself. My true worry is that I will be too exhausted from my daily work as a teacher to recognize that opportunity has knocked. Will I be passed out on the couch with a headache from all the details that I balanced at work and not notice? I don’t want a 30-year career only because I got tenure and I have a job for life. That idea really frightens me. I give so much of myself as a teacher to my students and deservingly so, but there comes a time when there isn’t anything more to give and I much change careers. It scares me not to have other avenues of career development as I get more invested in this career.

I remember how I was in college. Filled with so much passion and conviction as most know-it-all twenty year-olds are. I had a future and I new that things were going to work out. I chose college classes by my emotional reaction to the class description. I just new that the sociology courses would lead to a career that satisfied my emotional want to help others and provide for us financially. Little did I know what it takes to provide for a family “financially” during those times. Now I am living my "Future".