Man or woman, if you can get up in the morning and do what you love to do you are where you are supposed to be. Many times in my career as a teacher I had to explain or justify to others who kept telling me to apply to a public school district why I chose to teach in a Catholic school. Each time I was getting ‘advice’ from someone, they reminded me that I could be earning so much more money in public school, but I knew where I was supposed to be, and that was in Catholic Education.

Don’t get me wrong, earning more money would have make life a lot easier, and my family had to sacrifice a great deal because of my decision to remain in Catholic Education, yet I would not have changed a thing. When I look back over my 35 year (so far) career, I am certain I was in the right place – right where I was supposed to be.

I have great respect for public school teachers; they do such wonderful work and often encounter situations that are very challenging. I don’t envy their salaries because they work very very hard for that paycheck; and are the backbone of the communities they serve. My son is a public school music teacher who goes above and beyond to provide his students with experiences they will remember for a lifetime.

When my kids were trying to settle on college majors, I told them to do what they love because as adults we work a long time. If you don’t love what you do your job becomes work and nothing more. My daughter, who works in community mental health, once asked me jokingly, “Why did you tell us to do something we love instead of something that earned a lot of money?” She knew the reason, and she told her brother the same thing early in his career.

I am so thankful that I got to follow several of my passions – teaching – music – writing. Who knows what passions I may explore in the years to come. My wish for you is that you are living your passion, and if you are not – remember it is never too late!

I am participating in the Slice of Life Story Challenge for the month of March. I will be posting every day this month. It is sponsored by twowritingteachers.org. #SOL21