I did something today I rarely do, I went to a conference session that I wasn't at all intrigued with. It was a presentation about how to balance your life - work, family, and play. I chuckled as I entered the room, knowing I was an interloper, the only one in the room who wasn't searching for more balance, the only one blissfully happy out of balance. Perhaps I went to understand these people, having encountered them lately, mostly to my detriment. Twice in the past three years, I have been in a job interview process when I have been asked what I do to create balance in my life - when I chortled, things went downhill. Evidently people have a strong bias about such things in their lives, and unfortunately, in the lives of others. I would go so far as to say there are quite a few balance fascists out there.
I did enjoy the session, not finding any particular insight into the construct, but having an hour to contemplate things that are important to me, things that I am passionate about. Not that it is rare that I think about things, but I had the context and license to explore them indulgently was nice. I started contemplating what drove me, what made me want to do the things I do for a living, for my vocation. It was clear to me almost immediately that it came easily down to two simple things: jobs and dreams.
I didn't have the greatest childhood (didn't have the worse), but I have never had a job I hated that I thought was inescapable. I did jobs in college that were not very appealing, but they were transitional situations and I knew that. Everyday here in the US, I see adults stuck in jobs with not much hope for better futures, and it saddens me greatly. That is why I think I work with at-risk students here in my own country, knowing how much I get out of my work, hoping to give that gift to my students - the hope and freedom of a great job. I take it for granted too often, but when I work with students, I realize how blessed I am, and how important their careers will be for them. I try to help them develop the habits and skills they will need to chase those positions, to get them, and to keep them. But more importantly, I try to help them develop the cultural capital to appreciate those opportunities.
When I work overseas, I think more about dreams - once again, being and American is wonderful for a dreamer - literally anything is possible here, and conceivable too. Not so in many other places of the world. I want those other children to realize a broader set of possibilities, a broader set of freedoms, two things I also take for granted. Education is the obvious key, and for me, helping their teachers is my best tool. Jobs and dreams, dreams and jobs, new horizons, expanded possibilities - these are the things I think about daily when I look into the faces of people I work with 12-16 hours a day. These are the concepts that motivate me, haunt me, and occasionally reward me. To be honest, I can't think of anything else to plug into this equation to balance it.
I did enjoy the session, not finding any particular insight into the construct, but having an hour to contemplate things that are important to me, things that I am passionate about. Not that it is rare that I think about things, but I had the context and license to explore them indulgently was nice. I started contemplating what drove me, what made me want to do the things I do for a living, for my vocation. It was clear to me almost immediately that it came easily down to two simple things: jobs and dreams.
I didn't have the greatest childhood (didn't have the worse), but I have never had a job I hated that I thought was inescapable. I did jobs in college that were not very appealing, but they were transitional situations and I knew that. Everyday here in the US, I see adults stuck in jobs with not much hope for better futures, and it saddens me greatly. That is why I think I work with at-risk students here in my own country, knowing how much I get out of my work, hoping to give that gift to my students - the hope and freedom of a great job. I take it for granted too often, but when I work with students, I realize how blessed I am, and how important their careers will be for them. I try to help them develop the habits and skills they will need to chase those positions, to get them, and to keep them. But more importantly, I try to help them develop the cultural capital to appreciate those opportunities.
When I work overseas, I think more about dreams - once again, being and American is wonderful for a dreamer - literally anything is possible here, and conceivable too. Not so in many other places of the world. I want those other children to realize a broader set of possibilities, a broader set of freedoms, two things I also take for granted. Education is the obvious key, and for me, helping their teachers is my best tool. Jobs and dreams, dreams and jobs, new horizons, expanded possibilities - these are the things I think about daily when I look into the faces of people I work with 12-16 hours a day. These are the concepts that motivate me, haunt me, and occasionally reward me. To be honest, I can't think of anything else to plug into this equation to balance it.
'Balance fascists'.. hahaha!Just perfect!
ReplyDelete