Sunday, August 31, 2008

The Tipping Point

Tipping Point:

the moment of critical mass, the threshold, the boiling point; the point when everyday things reach epidemic proportions.

www.pbs.org/strangedays/glossary/T.html



Today was the last day of many and the first day of more.

Hunched over the dining table, one hand resting on a pile of bills, the other on a "Notice Prior to Administrative Wage Garnishment" for student loans, I lost my tentative hold on hope.



"What do you think you're doing, Faith? You're still barely getting by. Nobody's coming to save you. Five years from now, you'll still be here."



And I knew, at that moment, that I was destined for mediocrity. Nothing in the days leading up to this one would bring about the future I dreamed of.
Don't get me wrong. I am passionate about what I do...I'm just not doing what I'm really passionate about.
Make sense?

I'm a teacher...and I'm good at it. There is a certain sense of fulfillment that comes from opening up the minds of pubescent teens and pouring everything you know into them...hoping that your enthusiasm and curiosity is infectious...that these kids will become SICK with the desire to learn more.

But this is not enough. I was made for more.

I'm not supposed to just be a teacher. I'm an academic, an educator, an activist and a writer.

I realize that I've been afraid of what it would take to pursue my passion. For the last few years, I've been settling for what I have and not pushing for what I could be.
All I have to show for it is a chronic stress and the pile of bills in front of me.

Something's gotta give. Thus, this blog.

Over the next year, from September 1, 2008 to September 1, 2009, I'm embarking on a mission to redirect the trajectory of my life.
I'm inviting you to come with me.

Follow the ups and downs, challenges, successes, observations, realizations and random events in the life of a woman in transition.

Warning: You may learn more about me than you want to know...but more importantly, you may learn more period.

And so begins the Pivot* Year.


*Pivot: - A turning point or condition; that on which important results depend; as, the pivot of an enterprise.
www.brainyquote.com