Saturday, June 27, 2015

F#29: Flashbacks and Alternate Realities

Yesterday I started the internship for my MA in American Studies.  The location of said internship is right next door to where I had my first "real" job after college.  I was twenty-two and no one would hire my English major self.  Because...who hires English majors who are competent in reading and writing?  I stayed at this job until I started my journey toward becoming an educator.

As I took the bus into my internship yesterday, it was a definite flashback to that six month period where I was part of corporate America.  I woke up at seven AM.  I read on my commute instead of swearing at other drivers.  Later that day, I got to eat lunch outside, over half-an-hour, watching other Young Urban Professionals walk by.  

This could have been my life, I think.  I could have found a way to stay at the job I had, maybe moving around to other departments, or going to a different company entirely.  I could have eaten leisurely lunches, or maybe even worked out over my lunch break and had a snack at my desk later.  I could have visited the farmers' market on Fridays to pick up pieces for dinner.  

Of course, that life doesn't lead me to my best friend, or my husband.  That life doesn't take me on a guided tour of Prague and Budapest.  It doesn't give me my summer's off (sort of), or not having to worry about how I am getting to work when there's twenty-seven-million inches of snow on the ground.

This internship will be challenging but fun.  It will give me a chance to see "how the other half lives".  And it also gives me something to look forward to, when I have moved on from teaching and am ready to try something new.