In a few weeks, I head back to France (Toulouse) to complete a 4 week intensive course on Teaching English in a foreign language (TEFL). I always planned to travel the world and in the majority of the countries I've traveled to there has been a need of TEFL teachers. I have chosen France as I would like to take the opportunity to improve my French and live there for a month to get the 'feel' of what life maybe like living in France. As you can tell, I am not employed at the moment. Earlier this year I resigned from a 6 figure job to search for a non profit position close to home. I did find a non-profit position and resigned from that to move to NY for the summer. I was given the opportunity to stay in NY as my recruiter found me a job. But something was calling me back home, and I returned to the Midwest. Being disappointment with the competitiveness of the job market and realizing that my passion is traveling, I decided that this was good timing to pursue my goal to get TEFL certified. The timing couldn't be perfect and this will not be 'cheap', especially since I am living on savings, but what the heck! You only live once.
Even though many people have told me I was 'crazy' for resigning my 6 figure position. This year has been amazing to me. I also had the opportunity to travel immensely this year and realized many things...
Places traveled thus far in 2015:
1. Miami, FL ( I am a pisces, we love water)
2. Portland, Oregon (Hello, foodie/brunch capital)
3. Colorado, Aspen, Denver, other small towns I can't remember ( I fell in love with the scenery, so much beauty in this state)
4. New York, NY ( I've been here many times and always want to come back)
5. Paris, France (Je t'aime)
Lessons learned:
1. DO WHAT MAKES YOU HAPPY!
2. Money isn't everything (repeat #1)
3. Stop buying unnecessary items ( when I moved out of my apt. in Chicago, I realized I had too much clothing. I donated over 5 large black trash bags of clothing, some brand new. I realized I was heavy on retail therapy and since I had the money I shopped cause I was bored).
4. Be more adventurous ( I love meeting new people! The fact that I am traveling more allows opportunity to meet new people. So far, I got invited to Germany & had great conversations with many awesome people that have positively affected my life. I hope I was a positive affect on theirs too.......)
5. Have fun ( I use to be the queen of seriousness. Life is so short, shit happens, get over it! I also realized that these are the people I am attracted to.)
6. Take risks ( I applied for an MSW program at Loyola. This would be my second Masters and I applied just to see if I can get in, since I already have heavy student loans. It turns out I wrote a great essay, got accepted and was awarded a scholarship for my first semester).
There's still many wrinkles I need to iron out.. What if I stay in France longer? Will my funds be enough? Will I sell my car? Would I stay at Loyola after the first semester?
Things will work out, and in the meantime I will enjoy the ride and have fun. :)
Even though many people have told me I was 'crazy' for resigning my 6 figure position. This year has been amazing to me. I also had the opportunity to travel immensely this year and realized many things...
Places traveled thus far in 2015:
1. Miami, FL ( I am a pisces, we love water)
2. Portland, Oregon (Hello, foodie/brunch capital)
3. Colorado, Aspen, Denver, other small towns I can't remember ( I fell in love with the scenery, so much beauty in this state)
4. New York, NY ( I've been here many times and always want to come back)
5. Paris, France (Je t'aime)
Lessons learned:
1. DO WHAT MAKES YOU HAPPY!
2. Money isn't everything (repeat #1)
3. Stop buying unnecessary items ( when I moved out of my apt. in Chicago, I realized I had too much clothing. I donated over 5 large black trash bags of clothing, some brand new. I realized I was heavy on retail therapy and since I had the money I shopped cause I was bored).
4. Be more adventurous ( I love meeting new people! The fact that I am traveling more allows opportunity to meet new people. So far, I got invited to Germany & had great conversations with many awesome people that have positively affected my life. I hope I was a positive affect on theirs too.......)
5. Have fun ( I use to be the queen of seriousness. Life is so short, shit happens, get over it! I also realized that these are the people I am attracted to.)
6. Take risks ( I applied for an MSW program at Loyola. This would be my second Masters and I applied just to see if I can get in, since I already have heavy student loans. It turns out I wrote a great essay, got accepted and was awarded a scholarship for my first semester).
There's still many wrinkles I need to iron out.. What if I stay in France longer? Will my funds be enough? Will I sell my car? Would I stay at Loyola after the first semester?
Things will work out, and in the meantime I will enjoy the ride and have fun. :)
