Here I go!

So I'm new at this whole blog thingy here. I'm not even sure if my pursuit is or will be interesting to anyone else out there. I believe we all are pursuing something- it's a human characteristic that we all have. Pursuing love, a house, a job, a shoe, a glass of beer, what have you- we are all looking for something. So let's take the journey together!

My reason for starting a blog is to get out my frustration/anger over what has become my life to this point. I love my parents and family, don't get me wrong. I just feel like I have failed somewhere along the lines here and don't know how or where to fix my mistake. Or even if this path of perseverance is even a mistake.

For those of you who don't really know, I'll give you my sappy story. I, being a nerd or preppy, took college prep classes in high school and went straight to college after graduating. Not definite of what I wanted to do/study, I took a bit of everything. Bio wasn't too bad- did better than many nursing majors. (except my lab partner- Lipid Cheese Girl) I figured nursing wasn't quite up my alley, so I became an education major with a social studies/history concentration. Being taught how to be a teacher from a text book and a guy who had spit bubbles coming out of his mouth was not my idea of a good time. So, I went to a different college in the middle of nowhere (western PA where they say "pop" and "sweeper" and are very fond of football) and lived in what should have been a condemned building filled with black mold. I got very sick (I'm not sure who didn't get super sick from that place) and went home feeling defeated.

At home, I was able to work at Country Home Products (home of the DR Trimmer and no, it's not "doctor trimmer") until I figured out what to do next in my college education situation. I did many jobs at CHP and was proud to have worked in several departments while taking part time college courses at UVM and community college. (Anthropology is an interesting subject) In the fall of 2000, I had gotten in to Trinity College in Burlington, VT to finish my education degree. Only a month before school was to start, Trinity decided to close it's doors and send students to St. Michael's College, though they couldn't get me in until fall of 2001. Yet again I worked and persevered and patiently waited. At 23 I was a junior at St. Mike's finishing my degree in Elementary Education and Psychology. (Yes, a double major- sounds better than it was/is) Did all my stupid requirements and graduated in 2003 on Mother's Day. I almost didn't go to my graduation, but wanted the feeling of finality and completion of that part of my life (and a little party didn't hurt, either).

Here comes the next leg of the story. Finding a teaching job in Vermont= not easy. I did get a long term substitute job in East Bumshoe (Bakersfield, VT- look it up or drive there yourself). It was a job. After that, I couldn't find a job and was not very patient (student loans didn't help). My aunt and uncle in south Florida told me of the thousands of teaching jobs in Florida. Now Florida is great for visiting your aunt and uncle or grandparents in the dead of winter, but not where I necessarily wanted to live. I actually swore to my mom that I would never live south of the Mason-Dixon line. Haha... don't you hear God laughing now??? Anyways, to make a long story a bit shorter, I got a job in South Florida (West Palm Beach- sounds glamorous, doesn't it?) and headed south. What the heck is up with hurricanes? WAY too many my first year (first 3 months!) living down there. I taught 5th graders my first year and 1st graders my second year. It was a great but hard experience and I do miss my friends in Florida, but I missed my family and actual seasons (winter) so I moved back to Vermont and have been here ever since, substitute teaching in 4 school districts (2 mostly- sometimes 3, but I'm on the list at 4 districts). I've been applying all over Vermont- Canadian border to Massachusetts border. I had gotten my Maine teaching license at one point, but it has expired. I have applied to schools in Massachusetts now too. I just want a job!

My parents bought a farm while I was in Florida and I have lived with them here for the past six years. Yeah. Six years. I know, it's cheap rent and I'm extremely grateful. It's not like I planned to have lived with my parents for this long and it's not like I haven't been trying to get out of this po-dunk town. So we come to the name of my blog- pursuing patience. Why am I "pursuing patience"? That is a question I hope to answer at some point in my life. Hopefully soon. Am I right to want to be a teacher? I think I'm good at it, but it's sooooooooooo hard to get a job as a teacher. I know I'm not the only one out there who is looking for a job or even a teaching job for that matter. Fun fact: for every teaching job here in Vermont there are at LEAST 100 applicants. Ugh.

This is why I'm pursuing patience.

quote of the day:

A handful of patience is worth more than a bushel of brains.  ~Dutch Proverb