Full Cirle?

I just finished reading my best friend's blog, lawfrogtx.blogspot.com, and came to an intersting realization. Career paths often have many forks in the road and most people change their careers an average of three times. My natural father is an example of this...he has been a cryptanalyst, prison guard, drug counselor, realtor, postcard auctioneer, professional gambler, and now works in security. He has worn many hats, but returned to an area he feels comfortable in. Shelley, my friend, has undergrad degrees in Journalism and Sociology. After working for a few years and surviving some personal troubles, she opted to return to school and graduated with a law degree. After some other major life changes, she has decided to return to school yet again. Her passion has always been trying to understand and analyze human nature, so she is going for her Masters in Counseling/Psychology. While her career path took the scenic route to get to this destination, it just seems right that she has come full circle. I always wondered when she would get around to pursuing this vocation as she has a real knack for this stuff. As I contemplated it more, I think that all of her other degrees and life experience will be huge assets to her in the future when she opens her own practice. She will be uniquely qualified to counsel people on a wide varieties of issues. I am so proud of her tenacity.

All of these changes in Shelley's life direction got me thinking about the whole notion of coming full circle. I never set out to become a teacher when I began my career. I actually had my heart set on becoming a Japanese interpreter or something in the general field. I had spent time as an exchange student and fell in love with the culture. Somewhere along the way I lost sight of that goal and switched my college major to Sociology. I guess it was just too hard for me to retain the language at that point. My social services career took off and I worked in a variety of areas. Overall, I maintained my career focus on working with children. Now I am a Teacher. With my eclectic background, I like to think that I have a unique perspective and approach with children that I might not have had if I had pursued teaching right out of the gate. Ironically, I am going to an interview this evening at an 4-12 charter school that offers Japanese as a major part of its curriculum. The job itself could be a bit out of my league, but my early experiences with Japanese culture helped me get my interview. If I get this position, talk about coming full circle. We shall see.