Two roads diverged in a wood...

"I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference."
     ~ "The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost

Every once in a while I think about how I got to where I am today....and it's been a long road with a couple of forks along the way. From teaching, to 4-H, to advising college students -- which is something I never imagined I would be doing when I graduated college!

Today I worked with a student who didn't have a clear idea of what he wants to study, and as a transfer student he doesn't have the luxury of time to explore. We talked about quite a few options, and eventually figured out a plan for him to get started with for Fall Quarter. It took a lot of coaxing and questioning to get all the information I needed in order to help him make a decision. Am I sure he will stick with the plan we came up with today? Absolutely not, but it gave us a starting point to get him enrolled for classes this fall.

There are so many of the students I worked with this last year who weren't exactly sure where to start or had just a vague idea, so I feel like I've had the "what do you REALLY want to do when you grow up?" conversation multiple times, but each one is different. Each student comes to our program with an idea, a dream, a goal of what they want to do, they just don't realize it. One of the many things I love about my job is helping students have that "aha" (aka light bulb) moment. It's funny too because it's one of those "generic" teacher things that as teacher candidates students cite as a reason for becoming a teacher -- but really, at least for me, it's all about the excitement a student has when they discover just what they're looking for.

I think back to my undergrad career and wonder if my academic career path would have been different if I'd connected to an advisor who would have known just the right questions to ask. In the end, because I'm so stubborn, I think I would still have earned a teaching degree. Without it being an elementary degree I wouldn't have met one of my best friends and some of my favorite people. It's ironic how looking at the past makes you realize you did exactly what you were meant to do at exactly the right moment.

I hope every day that students walk out of my office feeling comfortable with the solutions we come up with for their dilemmas, which are not always easy to solve. Even when I have to pull out all the stops with hugs and tissues from my Minion covered Kleenex box, eventually a smile shows up and I know I'm doing something right. Without having faced "two roads diverged in a yellow wood," not once but twice mind you, I know I would not be the same person I am today, let alone in the same place I am today.

A bit nostalgic, and without pictures, but there you have it...a second post for June even! I promise to add tales and pictures from May's travels soon, and until then, keep on inspiring :)