Coolest. Job. Evar.

National Blog Posting Month – November 2015

November 3 Prompt: What did you think was the coolest job in the world when you were younger? Do you still feel that way now?

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This prompt is strangely appropriate since I’m in that frame of mind where I’m questioning my career choices (though it’s a little late to be changing paths now!).

The question perhaps could be restated as what did you want to be when you were growing up? And now that you’re an adult, would you still want that job?

I grew up with the TV shows Emergency! and CHiPs. I wanted to be a paramedic or a police officer depending upon how I felt on any given day. I wanted to rescue people. I wanted to be helpful.

I also wanted to be a teacher, and I drove my friends crazy by always wanting to play school. Conveniently, I have become a teacher, and I like it, so that’s all worked out for me.

But what about a life of public service? To be the first on the scene of an accident or a hostage crisis? Y’know, I do still from time to time wonder if I could do that. I mean, I could do that. I know I have the mental and physical capacities to do those jobs. I could be an MD, too, if I wanted to be. But do I still really want to be?

The answer is no. Growing up has taught me a lot. I have anxiety. I’d be burned out by now, suffering with PTSD if I went into any of these fields. So I may have the ‘book-learning’ and physical strength, my emotional framework simply isn’t up to it. And that’s fine. Not everyone needs to be an astronaut.

I have friends who are in emergency medicine. These friends are my heroes. I don’t want to do what they do. But I’m glad they’re doing it, so I can drive down the highway every day and know that help would be there right away if anything went tragically wrong.

Plus, I’m a teacher. I succeeded there. And the world needs more teachers. So I’ll do that, while others take on the task of keeping me (and everyone else) safe.

That works.