There were so many inspirations for this story. It started with the title of one of the Daily Spark journal entries, which was Cop. Dr. Dancer. In addition to being the German teacher at my high school, I am also part of an eclectic group of educators who puts together a yearly event called Career-Con. The purpose of the event is to introduce students to career professionals in the fields they are interested in to find out what it is actually like in those fields. I know so many people who followed career paths based on incomplete information or bad motives (ie I’ll become a lawyer because they make a lot of money or I like massages, so I’ll become a massage therapist). I love when my students ask me for advice on career choices. We talk about all the things that might be important to them. Without steering them in any particular direction, I try hard to provide them with as many pieces of information so that they can make an informed decision.
A few weeks ago, one of my level one students asked me if I liked being a teacher. What a loaded question when we are in the middle of a pandemic! I could not lie— I love being a teacher and even more so when I get to talk about what I love about it. Don’t get me wrong, I also told him the things that make it the hardest job you could ever imagine. Then he told me he was trying to decide between being a cop and being a teacher. I chuckled and explained to him that he must be a helper like I am. He was overjoyed that someone understood.
In Sampson’s story, I take it one step further and add a third option- dancer. With that choice, he can help bring joy to people’s lives through the art form that has changed his life. Does he follow the path of money and become a doctor? Does he follow the path of helping fight crime? Or does he follow his heart?
Read Sampson’s story here.
