Career Aspirations: Only Three Years of University Left, Time to Plan

Hey-o!

So, I had this crazy idea this afternoon- so crazy that it just screamed "blog me!"

I've wanted to be a writer, in some shape or form, for as long as I can remember. (For most of those years, it was the next Great Canadian Novelist, now, journalist).

In the past few months, I've come to discover how much I enjoy freelance writing. I get to set my own hours, talk to people I admire, and write stories that interest me. Pretty much fabulous!

However, this afternoon, I came to the conclusion that I might not be the best fit for the newsroom. I don't like writing newsy stories all that much. I much prefer to write features and profiles.

I know, boo hoo me. Features and profiles are always more interesting, such is journalistic life.

But wait, there's more!

I'm also better at writing these types of stories. I'm not a news chaser, I'm a story teller in many ways.

And as much as I find news stories exciting, my angle is always the human interest angle. I'm not going to blame that on being a sentimental woman (I'll rant about that some other time.)

So, in my ideal world, I would be:

A) Freelancing for various magazines and newspapers and writing stories that I pitch- stories with a focus on the people behind the news.

          i. Writing a novel. (Don't mock me for it. I am so going to do it, if only so that I can
             force relatives to read it.)

Yay me! Discovery!

(If you don't hear the sarcasm there, I blame the internet for muffling it.)

But, truth be told, freelancing can mean dirt poor and lonely cat lady who smells funny.

What if I freelanced and did something else! Wowee- now we're getting somewhere!

Now, see, this morning my sociology professor mistook me for planning to be a teacher. I set him straight (I want to be a WRITER... hopefully... followed by an awkward pause on my part), but not before thinking, for the billionth time, "I would make a really good teacher."

Case in point:

1. I love kids.

(As in, if I could play with kids all day, I would. I actually look forward to babysitting because kids are willing to go adventuring with me. I swear I'm a giant five-year-old at heart. I still love snowball fights and jumping in puddles!)

2. Kids love me.

(I realize this sounds horribly conceited. But hey. I guess kids recognize one of their own, no matter how much older that person may appear to be.)

3. I am a learning nerd.

(I go to class every day because I LIKE going to class. Yes, I know that's a shock. I also enjoy doing my readings. Don't hurt me... please.... I guess you could say that I'm curious about everything. Or, if not, I force myself to be. Hello, Grade 12 Functions.)

4. I really like school/being in school.

(The books, the professors, the students all ready to learn (sort of...), the backpacks, the binders, the pens, the paper! Gah... I could go on...)

So, take the four above points and evaluate them. You should get this.

Beth's Career Aspirations:

A) Freelance Writer (Cool, that was easy.)

       i. Novelist. (Wow, you were paying attention!)

And for the grand finale....

B) TEACHER! (Squee, you're amazing!)

Now, I only need to find out if I actually like teaching. So, yeah, let's gear up on the volunteering function there, Beth.

Heh. Watch me hate teaching those little boogery brats. What then? The drama! The heartache! The disappointment.

Meh. I'll just go back to planning on a future of eating cat food while checking kijiji for writing jobs. Yippee!

Oh, and, by the way, I do know that teaching prospects look fairly dismal and have for a while. Let's just say that I like dying industries with no jobs on the market. I'm fantastic that way.

No, really. I would plan on being a Grade 7-12 teacher and probably with French as one of my teachables. I can be realistic sometimes!

And I'm not planning on quitting journalism school either. I've gotten so much valuable writing experience here and I do plan on using it in some medium or another.

So, now I've just got to set my noodle on figuring out:

I. Whether I actually want to do this teaching thing.
II. Whether I would be good at doing this teaching thing.
III. Whether I could make money doing this... thing.
IV. How in the heck I go about becoming eduacted for this thing!

This may change tomorrow. I'll keep you posted.

Blessings,

Beth