Feeling: ecstatic
Listening to: television
Reading/Watching: America's Got Talent... this is why I don't have cable, btw.

In my life, I have had a lot of jobs.

Waiting tables, singing for money (sometimes both at the same time), peddling retail items (books, bras, etc), 411 operator, mindless office temp.

Teaching was the first thing that constituted a career. My voice students made me feel like I was getting somewhere, building something. And then I got my first full-time job, and felt like I had officially arrived, even if it was by chance.

But I got that job because they were desperate. I wasn't qualified for it, I wasn't prepared or fully trained. I leapt into a volcano, and was told to swim. And somehow I managed it.

This summer, for the first time, I was job hunting with the same credentials as everyone else (less, in some cases). I was trying not just for a job, but for the continuation of my career. I was trying to prove that my first lucky break was not a fluke. I was hoping to do better than where I started, and praying I wouldn't land somewhere worse.

But this time, for the first time, I had true recommendations at my back. I had experience, I had good things to say about myself, and about my ability to do this.

And this time, for the first time, I got a job that I really, desperately wanted, that was a big step forward for me. I had to beat out people who also really, desperately wanted it. I brought everything I had, and it was actually impressive. The principal seemed excited about my ideas, and was trying to make her school look good to me.

Plus, I got nearly a 20% raise in salary, to work in a school with better funding, test scores, and family support. That's awfully nice.

So I'm officially staying in Schoolville. Anybody want to be my roommate?

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