In fact, if you traveled back to 2010 and asked me what I planned to do with my life, I'd say enthusiastically "I want to go to graduate school for human resources and work as a consultant, and eventually a human resource manager!". Money, money, MONEY!
What follows is an extremely simplified version of my choices leading up to living in Korea.
Step one in my masterful plan is was to get into grad school, but applying late and lazily cemented my rejections for me.
With that path differed, I found employment as a movie theater employee, then hourly manager at a company I had worked at for several years. A year later I was co-running my own store and hating it. Working 60+ hours a week can make anyone miserable.
Things all came crashing down when I got so sick at work we had to call an ambulance. I didn't have sick days and I just finished a 7 day rotation, I was exhausted and had the flu. That was my wake up call.
While recuperating, the question came up that I will never forget: What would you do for a living if all jobs paid the same?
I had to make a change. I was working myself to death, and why? I was a young, intelligent woman; I had options. I began to look into some of them online. That's when I did some internet research and found the EPIK program.
I met every qualification, and I was willing to learn.
Thus we skip forward several months, several hundred dollars, a mailing scare, and a Skype interview- I was in!
When I landed in South Korea my world shattered. I felt like I was dreaming. I remember remarking to one of the girls I landed with that this was "completely unreal" and could she pinch me? Everything was different, the air, the people, the language on the signage leading out of the airport.
I spent the first several months in what can only be described as culture shock. Things went by in a blur, everything was a new experience. I got sick a lot. I studied Korean. I made a group of wonderful girl friends.
Most importantly, I started learning about myself.
With a steady job that ended early enough in the afternoon for me to have hobbies, I was able to start concentrating on what I liked to do. I found movies online, I traveled with my friends, and I started taekwondo and Korean lessons.These were nothing compared to the fact that I discovered "Hey! I like my job!".
After working with EPIK for several months, I began to narrow down what exactly I liked about my job; I enjoyed helping my kids and seeing them grow. More specifically, I liked helping the kids that had holes in their shoes and the lowest level of English. These kids often turned out to be the most willing to learn, and had the best attitudes about trying to speak English.
I'm still working on translating this into a career, but at least when I go back to school it will be for Social work, with a specific goal of helping children in need. Without the EPIK program, none of this would be possible.
For anyone on the fence on applying---do it! Even if teaching's not your thing, you're bound to learn about yourself and experience a whole new culture in the process.
So, let me ask you, what would you do for a living if all jobs paid the same?
No comments:
Post a Comment