Quitter:Chapter 1 and Some Background

TWO DAYS IN A ROW!! Aren't you proud? I told you I'd be a better blogger.

Today, I'm reporting live from the workplace...at least for the first part of this blog, but I'll probably finish at home because it's almost lunchtime. That's one perk of my job, I get a lunch break. Though that doesn't really compare to the summer break that my teacher hubby gets. Yes, I'm bitter. I get one week of UNPAID vacation this year, he gets two months paid. Of course he'll also have to deal with our kids for 2 months straight eventually, so maybe it'll end up being fair. But that's another story for another day.

Today, I started Jon Acuff's new book, Quitter. It's about "bridging the gap between your day job and your dream job." Sounds simple, right? I bought the book on kindle for a few reasons (get ready for a list):

1. I had giftcards (yay in-laws!)
2. Jon Acuff mentioned me on Twitter which makes me feel cool and automatically makes me a fan
3. I would really like a dream job, please.

So I thought it couldn't hurt. When I started reading I expected to immediately want to turn in my 2 weeks notice, so you can imagine my disappointment when the title of chapter one showed up as "Don't Quit Your Day Job" Seriously, Acuff?! Rude! I needed you to give me a little take-this-job-and-shove-it pep talk! I guess that explains why I'm now blogging live from my desk...

Let me start the Quitter journey with a little background as to why I'm interested in being a quitter myself. For one, my mom never let me quit anything as a child, so now that I'm grown I feel powerful that I'm able to quit things. Irrelevant, but true. Aside from the "power" of quitting, I also would like a job I enjoy.

Where to begin? I started my "career journey," if you can even call it such, as a home economics teacher. Thrilling. I never wanted to be a teacher, certainly not the cooking, baby-raising, interior-decorating kind because I enjoy drive-thru dinners, not being a parent and a messy house. It was a poor fit. I blame someone else for this poor major decision, but I'm working on taking some responsibility too(this is another story for another day). At present I'm a college-educated phone answering superstar. I sometimes file, and on rare occasions fill out forms to help jack child support from dead-beat parents. That's my favorite part. Why? Because it serves a purpose. I need a purpose. I'm at my best when I'm doing something else for somebody else. I often spend time poring over these verification forms and imagining myself as somewhat of a hero because I'm helping these kids get food, clothes, and the ever-important health insurance. I really play a microscopic role in the process, but I'm ok with that, its a purpose nonetheless.

So I'm now soul-searching (for approximately the 1863468 time) because I don't know what this "dream job" I should be seeking is. I literally have no idea. When I was in 5th grade, someone came in our social studies class and asked everybody what they wanted to be when they grew up. I said I wanted to be a perfectionist. The adults laughed=positive reinforcement. This continued to be my career goal for longer than necessary because I really like thinking I'm funny. In high school I switched to nursing, but I'm not really sure why/I just really want to wear scrubs. They are comfy and people respect people when they're wearing scrubs. I also got to watch a c-section thanks to my health occupations teacher and her "internship" program (and no thanks to the excruciating process of mitering the corners of bed sheets), which I think is why I'm so completely obsessed with pregnancy and childbirth. I probably would've been a nurse by now if I wouldn't have been a complete moron and chosen a college with no nursing program. Now that's good planning!**Aside: I'm still glad I went to UGA though, otherwise I wouldn't have met my incredible/goodlooking/superpatient/perfect hubs!**

All of this to say I remain undecided on what my dream job might be. I've got all kinds of hobbies, but I'm just not sure where I'll end up in the long run. I've done A LOT of praying, but I've found that I sometimes seek "signs" from God that point me to whatever career I like best that day, and even sometimes hear Him saying exactly what I want to hear. Now I'm just praying He'll open doors and dead-bolt others...this is hard, I'm a control freak and often would like His plans to align directly with mine. Pray with me? Hopefully an answer will come as I continue reading "Quitter," or I'll at least get some better ideas of how to get there when I do figure out the dream job. I'll keep you updated while I follow the first chapter's advice and keep my day job!

XOXO while the phone rings,
Hannah

PS: I apologize if this isn't exactly coherent. Because I'm working it was written in segments throughout the day!