So the thing about being unapologetic is that you have to be unashamed of who you are. You have to make decisions and have confidence that what you did was right. One decision I made this year rocked my world. I stepped out of the classroom to pursue a career in customer service. Hopefully one day I'll get to return to the classroom, but for now, because of the demands of my growing family, and the pressure I felt during my pregnancy, I felt that this is the best decision for me.
At first I was really embarrassed about it. I found a sense of pride, probably too much pride, in the fact that my husband and I were this supppsed power couple. A Black teacher serving urban kids and empowering them to be tomorrow's future leaders. A Black lawyer changing lives day by day and upholding justice and integrity as a banner for the world. Sounds good doesn't it? But at the end of the day, neither of those things define us. In 2018, I want to stop being embarrassed about the fact that I work a job that someone with no college degree could have done. It feeds into the idea that trades are somehow less valuable than jobs that require a degree. I don't want to act like that because I don't believe that. Everyone who does any job contributes to the economy and to the world in a way that is both necessary and valuable. As long as it is creating increased self-sufficiency and the ability to support those in need, then I am here for it. Moreover I can take my experiences in this field back to the classroom and use it to give my students skills that they'll be able to use as soon as they graduate from high school, offering them options outside of college that will allow them to support themselves and their future families.
To be completely honest, I actually really enjoy my job now. Don't get me wrong. I loved teaching with my whole heart, and I really do feel like it is a part of my greater calling and mission in life, but the experiences that I'm getting right now have added to my understanding of the world around me and industries outside of education in ways that I could not have imagined. The experience I'm getting in corporate America has been positive so far, and the company that I work for is amazing. It has given me a model for ways I can improve in my educational career and has expose me to practices I wish to see in the educational world.
While I do get tempted sometimes to still feel dejected about my new career choice and the fact that is not as glamorous as a teacher life (if you want to call it that), more than anything, I know that I am honoring God by doing my job well and allowing it to make me a better professional. I know God is going to use the things I'm learning now to make me a better person, and that is the best reward and calling I can answer to.
