Default Phart

In 2015 I'll be five years older, and I'll still be wondering what I'm going to do when I grow up.

Coincidentally, when the journalism student suggested the blog topic this week, another student was doing an interview with me for a career reflection essay for one of her teacher education courses. The blog topic begs a look forward; the interview focused on past events, addressing how I got to my current career.

Damn good question!

My spending 30 plus years in education was not by desire or design. It was by default. I knew when I was 12 years old what I wanted to do, and it wasn't working in the field of education. My plan was to be a journalist, and that plan held strong until the summer after high school graduation. To make a long story short, I changed my mind based on immature thinking, enrolled at Northeast Missouri State (letting my enrollment at the University of Missouri go), and graduated four years later with a bachelor's degree in psychology. I had no idea what I was going to do with the degree.

I stumbled through one job, and then another, then returned to school--twice, earning two additional degrees--before I eventually took a job with an Iowa school district in counseling psychology. All the while knowing I was not in the career I wanted, but I was stuck. I did have to pay the bills and I'm not one to go without food! I've always said I made the move into education for three reasons: June, July and August. There is some truth to that! There was never any true passion for the career, there was a true passion for boating, and I needed my summers free to do that!

Six years into the career and the desire to work as a journalist was still niggling in my head. The desire had never really left, I had merely settled. But, I was fortunate--I was close to the University of Iowa, they had a graduate program in journalism, and I had a little cash. I jumped on the chance, and after the first semester was awarded a scholarship that did help defray some of the tuition cost. I wasn't flush with money, so I did have to maintain my school position: I was working 40-hour weeks and taking classes over summers, evenings and during weekend seminars. It took four years, but I finally was awarded the degree I wanted all those years before.

I left education and moved into a job as a feature writer with the Cedar Rapids (Iowa) Gazette. I felt the excitement of doing a job I enjoyed.

Family circumstances, however, eventually made it necessary for me to return to Missouri. Although I was offered a job with the local newspaper, I had moved on from minimum wage jobs, and I had to fall back on my counseling psych education and experience. I was back as an educator.

Looking forward, I have two projects I hope to complete: a fiction novel and a true crime novel. The idea for the fiction novel I've played with for several years and have one completed very rough manuscript; recently, the true crime novel literally fell into my lap! My thesis in grad school was new journalism and the true crime novel. I was that enthusiastic high school kid again when I stumbled on the local case that has all the ingredients for a great book. Currently, I'm working with a CNN trial consultant, hoping we can bring the trial (if the case(s) gets to trial in my lifetime!) to live court television.

I made some mistakes in my career selection, and I spent three decades regretting that. However, in five years I hope to have both writing projects completed. I can then say: "I did it!"