"Finish what you started" has been my mantra for most of my life. You can say I'm tenacious, determined and as uneloquent as it may sound, pig-headed. I complete my life goals, regardless of time and obstacles. For some reason, God has played with this character trait of mine and has led me down paths that have worked in my favor. Actually, it's not just some reason - it's His master plan at work.
And so this leads me to my newest life adventure - student teaching. I'm somewhat ashamed to admit that I started this teaching journey over 15 years ago, back when I had just completed my first anniversary here in what I now consider home, Spartanburg, South Carolina. I enrolled at Converse College, seeking an initial certification in teaching with a master's degree. I chose high school chemistry. But after a year into the program, the timeframe and classes were not aligning with my new job at BMW and my life events. So I quit. Fast forward 6 years later, I felt impressed to rethink my pursuit of a teaching career, after feeling quite stagnant and unchallenged with my current career. And so as salmon swims upstream in pursuit of leaving a legacy, I went back to school and this time aligned my goals with my personality and skills. I changed my major from High School Chemistry to Elementary education. And I went full force with my new goals, successfully completing class after class, and savoring the environment, the discussions, theories and strategies I was being taught.
This week has been the beginning of the end: my last semester. I took a semester off from work to complete my student teaching. It's truly a step in faith for me. I wholeheartedly enjoy my career at BMW now, and really there's no need for me to pursue this educational path I had chosen fifteen years ago. But I always finish what I've started, and there's a reason my heart was moved to pursue this dream. And there's a reason my current employer made it possible for me to be here. And so I will give it my all, soaking the experiences and making new friends along the way, because God has a plan and it definitely involves me.
