Praxis Studying Has Commenced

For the past two days I've been quite proud of myself; venturing out to Starbucks in preparation for my impending praxis exam 6 days from today.  I've been working my way through the exercise book and moving at a pretty solid pace so far.  The book is about 230 pages and I'm already through 100 with 6 days to go so I'm feeling very good about my preparation so far.  I must say I've never studied or had the motivation to study so hard for a standardized test.  Maybe it's because with this test I'm actually passionate about my impending career so I'm taking my certification exam seriously.  Either way I'm glad that I have this week off from school to study and that I've found that motivation to study.  My current study and work habits also make me feel good about my future career as an English teacher.  Sometimes when school is difficult or I think about the negative aspects of teaching (dealing with parents, salary limitations, tough kids) I doubt if teaching is for me and I need to bring myself back to reality.  The fact that I'm hunkering down over Spring Break and studying is a good sign that I'm really committed to this career path; hopefully that will hold true. 

You know it's funny when people ask me what I'm going to school for and I say I'm going to be an English teacher I get mixed reviews but overall people give the generic 'Oh that's good/nice.'  Sometimes I respond with 'Yeah it works for now', only because I've had many different career aspirations up until this point.  I began undecided, then thought about journalism, then law enforcement (FBI, DEA, etc.), followed by a career in psychology, then contemplated law school, and here I am.  You could easily say it's been a whirlwind career path so far and I just hope that it's nearly at an end.  Who knows what the future hold but at least come December I'll have a marketable education and certification that will at least provide a steady paycheck, job security, and some nice benefits and pension options.  The nice thing for me is that I know I could be happy doing a number of different things with my life.  I don't think people have just one clear cut path and for me teaching is just one of the directions that I could take in order to live a happy and fulfilling life.  Who knows how long my teaching journey will go but at least I know that I'll enjoy the ride.