A ship in a harbor is safe...

... but that's not what ships are for.

Alert. This post is neither fashion nor decor related. No overt light-heartedness today, folks. Today (or next week, rather) is decision making time.  I was extended an offer to join the 2011 Teach for America Corps in the Mississippi Delta.  "Wait, wait," you say, "didn't she go to law school, take the TEXAS bar exam, and start doing Oil and Gas law recently?"  Yes Missy, I did.  And now I must make a BIG decision.  Do I stay with the firm at which I'm currently working doing the kind of work I went to law school for?  OR do I take a gigantic risk, move to Mississippi/Arkansas, and teach Mathematics?  Do I stick with comfort and status quo or do I take a leap of faith and follow a dream?  I'm sure by that comparison you can already tell which way I'm leaning.  But I'm scared.  If I choose the risk, I'm going to take a pay cut. I'm going to move somewhere I never thought I'd live.  It'll be hard.  Like, really hard.

And, as I ponder which next steps I'll take, I'm reminded of the President's words:

“Over the next ten years… we want to prepare 100,000 new teachers in the fields of science, technology, engineering and math."  Wasn't I just offered the chance to be one of those teachers?

But what about my law degree?  And what about the fact that I'm good at being a lawyer?  Am I, as some in the law profession told me, throwing my law career away?

I mean, I didn't go to law school with some warm, feel-good, fuzzy feeling to change the world.  In fact, as the debt started growing, I thought that I better had get a good, high-paying job to pay off my "house" of loans.  But I found happiness in helping out the accused, the victims, and those no one else helped out.  I worked my tail off, for free, throughout law school at various government offices and a free legal clinic.  And I LOVED it.  Because I have a passion for people and I want a career that makes my soul feel good. 

So, folks.  I'm 50/50 now. Not leaning one way or the other, but more like leaning both ways. I'm like 80/80. And I'm praying for wisdom...

This nation was built by men who took risks - pioneers who were not afraid of the wilderness, business men who were not afraid of failure, scientists who were not afraid of the truth, thinkers who were not afraid of progress, dreamers who were not afraid of action. ~Brooks Atkinson

Thanks for the Image, BBC