Blog 3: Finding my Voice (Part 2)
“Never give up. And most importantly, be true to yourself. Write from your heart, in your own voice, and about what you believe in.”
Louise Brown
As I reread my post from last week and have talked with several friends around my age, it seems that we were encouraged to get a job working in a position that would complement our spouse’s work, thus teaching or nursing or secretarial assistant. There was really no discussion about having a career – one that we put time and effort into and fit our ‘Voice’. A job was something to earn money on the short term, while a career is a long-term pursuit for meaningfulness.
Teaching, nursing, or secretarial positions could be either a job or a career. As a teacher, I know many (if not most) that put their heart and soul into their work, changing lives and creating miracles! A profession worthy for all of us! Yet, for women of my age, it was more about the job, the temporary, until we found that “magic” of marriage and family. I realized the meaningfulness and purpose in my early junior high teaching and have many memories of students that would go on to make a difference in their communities and world.
As I moved into graduate education, I realized that teaching was still my calling, my vocation, just maybe not at the junior high level. I loved working with the young adults and then later working with the older student. Learning was reciprocal. As I interacted with the students, it was always a new day of seeing the world through different life experiences. My views and thinking were challenged and I had to examine my values, beliefs, and views about life. This continual learning path appealed to me always provoking my thinking about life and the lived experiences.
Leadership positions offered a different view of the learning environment. It allowed me to focus on goals for the bigger picture, working with students, staff and faculty. It also allowed me to consider impact – so what difference were we really making with our students and those they would interact with in their careers? And it raised questions about equity – equity for ability, age, race, religion, gender, and sexual orientation…. When the Diversity Council (Pepperdine University – the Graduate School of Education and Psychology) adopted this mission statement, “…we embrace human diversity—which we believe to be the natural expression of God’s creation—in our work to advance learning and service” – I fully realized my ‘Voice’.
Was there an event or an occasion in your life when you realized your ‘Voice’?
Career, influences, Leadership, Meaningfulness, purpose, women