Other- a late Five Minute Friday

Many ways to look at this week's prompt. it is defined as "used to refer to a person or thing that is different or distinct from one already mentioned or know about."

For me it's the other option I couldn't see or choose because I didn't know.

other.......

Upon arriving home from teaching in the city for a year, I didn't get another teaching job right away. Student loans were needing to be repaid and times were tough. Driving a ten year old car and living at home with mom and dad for $50.00 a month while working in a drug store had become my life. I subbed and applied for different teaching positions, but a full time tenure track position wasn't easy to come by back then.

After a year of working in retail, I moved onto a not for profit organization, serving people with developmental disabilities.  I began thinking maybe I should just go into another field, so I started to research the field of OT (occupational therapy).

STOP

UGH!! I ran out of time, but I didn't want to stop there and leave people hanging, so I kept writing, hoping it will encourage someone, somewhere to keep other options open.

The more I learned, the more realized that OT would not be an easy detour. I wasn't even sure I could do it. Physics and chemistry were pre-requisites of which I squeaked by in high school. It also meant tons more student loans. Until the "other" opportunity appeared, I was stuck wondering what in the world to do and feeling hopeless.

A friend of mine stopped by to tell me about a special grant program at the nearby state university and how I could get a Masters in Teaching completely covered with a stipend to live off. All of this in one year.

I am now in my seventeenth year of teaching ENL/ESL and love it! When I was originally certified as an elementary education teacher, I didn't know much of anything about ESL. I didn't know I would love it.

Sometimes we don't know what we want or need. Sometimes the "other" option must present itself.

May we be open to new possibilities, even if it's quite different than what we imagine.