When I started college I knew more than anything I just wanted to be a teacher. My mom was a teacher, and I always loved going to work with her and helping her in the classroom. Even in my freshman year, I was taking all the required education classes that were required for me throughout my undergrad.
In my Sophomore and Junior years I started student teaching and going to fieldwork in Elementary and High Schools, even though I was still telling myself I wanted to teach, something began to feel a little off. Regardless, my friends and I all applied to the graduate program, which took months of recommendation letters, test scores, and personal essays. After waiting for what felt like forever, I finally got accepted.
When I was going into Senior year, I couldn't help feeling like something wasn't right. I felt more scared than excited at the idea of teaching. After working in schools and experiencing what it would really be like to be a teacher, I had a gut feeling that it was not right for me. Even though it meant leaving my friends and finishing school with a degree in English, I knew that being a teacher was the wrong decision for me.
After thinking about it for weeks, pondering a decision that could change my entire life, I decided to drop out of graduate school. Even though it seems like it would mean less work for me, what it really meant was I had to sit down with myself and decide what I actually wanted to do, and if I could do it with the degree I was about to complete.
After graduating in May, it became very difficult for me to find a job because all of my peers had four years of school to get internships and learn more about their craft, while all I had was some teaching experience. I began to get down on myself for making this big decision and having nothing to show for it, and I started to regret dropping out at all.
After applying for what seemed like a billion positions, I finally got an internship at a company I really love, and a job I hope to have someday. When I think about the fact that I could still be in grad school right now hating my life and dreading my future, I am so happy that I decided to drop out. Despite all of the embarrassment and disappointment of some of the people around me, I know that making that decision was the best thing I've ever done. Don't be afraid to do the things that scare you, they may make all the difference in the end.
