Another Door Opens (May Photos, Day 24)

 

 

There’s no getting around it:  losing my job earlier this year was a crushing blow.  And the complete lack of success at finding a new job hasn’t done much for the positive mindset, either.

However, one of the things that’s been a positive outcome of the unexpected unemployment has been the time to focus on myself.  I’ve stepped up my walking regimen (NPI), started the Couch to 5K program, spent more time with my blog, enjoyed the daily photo challenge . . . it’s a pretty nice list, really.  And I’ve also spent a lot of time thinking about just what it is that I’d like to do with my life.

Well, I should clarify that I’ve been thinking about what I’d like to do that’s at least remotely practical.  I’d still love to become a world-famous author, or a globe-trotting travel photographer, or even an astronaut, but I think it’s safe to assume most of those choices are not really in the cards.  But one of my other long-time interests is the law.  Way back in the day—really way back, before I was even in high school—I even gave some thought to becoming an attorney.  But, it was criminal law that most interested me, and I could never decide whether I’d rather be on the side that occasionally acquits a guilty person or the side that occasionally convicts an innocent one.  Besides, by the time I finished high school, I wasn’t all that thrilled with the idea of another seven or eight years of school.

But, flash-forward to today, and you find an unemployed adult who long ago lost the aversion to school.  Like many older folks, I’ve come to appreciate the simple act of learning, and wish I could’ve recognized its importance enough to pursue a greater education in my youth.  But, as I like to tell my son, it’s never too late to do what you really want to do.  And, no longer working 60 hours a week finally gives me the opportunity to pursue something that interests me.

So it is that today I submitted an application to Rose State College, with the intention of pursuing an associates degree in paralegal studies.  If the bureaucracy moves quickly, I may even be able to get enrolled for the summer session and get the last couple of general ed classes completed so that come fall I can focus solely on the program courses.  My fingers are crossed on that one, but it will be a close race against time.

And, as today’s photo theme is “something new”, what better subject could there be than the page turning on a brand new chapter of my life? 

So, yeah, becoming one of the many unemployed really sucked, but there’s little doubt that had that door not closed, the door to Rose State would never have opened.  It’s time to take advantage of this new opportunity, and truly begin with something new.