I would only change one thing about my past. I would have gone to college to become a teacher. Im good at my job as a correctional officer, it’s an honest job, and I don’t hate it, but I would have been happier teaching children.
I always liked college. I took numerous classes while in the Navy. I didn't get a degree until '94. I never doubted my abilities. Perhaps you could go to college when you retire from CO.
I thought about taking writing classes when I’m on night shift, or perhaps get a degree in Human Resources. A nice 9-5, Monday through Friday job.
This post was edited by Rizz at October 16, 2018 10:19 PM MDT
Would love to encourage you to write. With the types of experiences you've had, you could write a novel which deeply explores and question all the issues around corrective services. I think it would be a deep dive into an aspect of our society that few of us ever see or experience. It would give others valuable insights.
I suspect that you would have been an excellent teacher. Something in the flavour of your replies suggests to me that you are thorough and whole-hearted in everything you undertake.
When I matriculated and chose further education, I did not understand the implications of the derogatory term "doing Marriage 1".
I was offered a place to study literature and psychology at a top uni, and I turned it down to accept a place at art school. It had never crossed my mind that 90% of the students would be female and most of the male students, gay. I chose where I thought my best talents would lead me to a satisfying career, and did not think of the social or other consequences. I continued on to post-grad teaching, where the ratio was 19 women to 1 man. For twenty years, I enjoyed teaching art, but not the low pay. Most of us applied for promotions when we reached the right number of years of experience; the majority of women were rarely promoted, and the higher they went, the less likely it was that they were selected. Most of the men did get their promotions. At the top in the Department of Education, where curricula are written and decisions made, the numbers are reversed, 19 males to one female.
And then, when it comes to the transition from art to writing, the literary scope of stories in the realm of education is limited and already replete with tired tropes and sickly clichés. Twenty years later, seeing my mistakes, I returned to uni to study lit. and psyche. and discovered that they were far more fulfilling.
Had I chosen the uni when young, I would have started adult life on a salary five times higher. As a psychologist, I could have worked in various departments, but later developed an independent professional practice free of office politics and hierarchies, and I could have accumulated more comfortable material security for my old age. I would have collected a wider variety of stories and experiences well-suited to writing novels on contemporary social issues. I would also have met a larger number of highly intelligent heterosexual young men from other faculties and had a better chance of meeting a mate while still young.
This post was edited by inky at October 16, 2018 7:00 AM MDT
Only if I could pick and choose certain parts to exclude or do differently, but if it's just a repeat of it all without any changes, NO THANKS! ~
This post was edited by Randy D at October 16, 2018 10:23 PM MDT
Rizz 