I can definitely say I have evolved. As I near the age of 40… uh….yeah….that is hard to type but as it so happens I am turning 40 this month. It is definitely interesting being 40 and back in university. My life has taken twists and turns, much like other peoples lives. I graduated high school in 1995 with the intention of becoming a Drama teacher. I enrolled in the Vancouver Film School and then while working the ski season at Whistler prior to school I met a handsome Australian and my life course took a 180 degree flip flop that I did NOT see coming.
I dropped out before school started and went to Australia on a year long working holiday visa. A year later I was married and then ten years later I was divorced and moving back to Canada! A few things happened in between but those are…..history 😀
I went back to University 8 years ago believing I would make a great nurse. My family have nurses all through the ranks and it seemed logical. I didn’t even really consider what drove my interests. What was I passionate about? Practicality seemed far more interesting. After two years in the BSN program I dropped out because I just wasn’t feeling it. Heck…who wants to work night shifts?!?!? Not me!!
Working in the hospitality field has always been my go to and after 20 odd years of experience it seemed like the natural progression in my career. I became the General Manager for a great company and was working in Northern Alberta and really loved the people I was working with. We housed many of the evacuees during the fire in Fort McMurray of this year. I managed nearly 300 staff and 3000 rooms in the remote of Northern Alberta. The living conditions and people in that environment is definitely worthy of a sociological study. Through this position I was able to pin point exactly what I wanted to do. It kind of hit me like a surprise, off course, baseball at a live game! I want to be in a leadership role but I want to teach leadership. I want to empower, mentor, and help guide people in achieving their goals. So here I am, back in university with the end goal (at this stage) of acquiring my Bachelor of Education degree. It was through the evolution of my self awareness that I was able to pinpoint what absolutely peaked my interests. Some people may get there a lot faster; I’m super excited to be there now.