Eureka!

I can't remember the "light bulb" moment, but at some point I came to the sudden realization that I was being dishonest with myself. For as long as I could remember I had fooled myself into thinking I was something, many things really, that I was not. I would have described myself as brave, but racking my brain for an example, I wouldn't be able to remember the last time I had taken a risk. I would have said I was a a go-getter, but I would be hard-pressed to think of the last time I took any initiative. I came to believe an illusion I had created and misrepresented myself as the person I wanted to be rather that who I was in reality.

In his book A Million Miles in a Thousand Years Donald Miller writes, "A character is what he does." I can say I am brave, outgoing, decisive, spontaneous, adventurous or a go-getter, but unless I'm doing something about it, these characteristics are only aspirations. Miller challenges his readers to live better stories than the ones they are currently living. I want to be a better character in a better story.

From There to Here: Part 1

I celebrated my 22nd birthday in Florida with my parents. They were there to attend a Book of Hope conference (http://www.bookofhope.net/pages/page.asp?page_id=62066), I was there to shop and suntan. Between lazing at the beach and bargain-hunting at the Prime Outlet mall, I managed to find the time to attend a few sessions. I met people who had committed their lives to raising support, living abroad, and distributing the Bible in dozens of languages around the world. It was inspiring, it was motivating, it was thought-provoking, it was frustrating! I was stuck at university wading my way through an undergraduate degree while people were living their adventures around the world and making a meaningful difference. That is what I wanted to be doing. I seriously considered dropping-out, for about a day, before I decided that finishing my education was probably a good idea. Returning to school the next week, I consoled myself with the thought that a teaching degree would be marketable around the world, and open doors that would otherwise be closed to me. It seems I may have been right.

It all began with lake effect snow...

I wanted to become a teacher before grade 10 Geography, but it was that year and specifically that class that cemented my plans. I had grown up teaching my stuffed animals to read, doing simple math problems and taking attendance, "Mr. Monkey-Magoo, check. Oliver Owl, check. Stacey Cabbage Patch, check. Curious George, late as usual." I enjoyed school and admired my teachers, but it wasn't until grade 10 Geography that I became frustrated to the point of wanting to tear the pages out of my textbooks. During the lake effect snow lesson, that I did not understand in spite of Mr. Sommers' attempts at scribbled diagrams on the blackboard, I remember saying to myself, "School doesn't have be this maddening. I could do better." I managed to pull off a decent mark in the class, but the ball was set in motion. I was going to be a teacher just to prove to my future students that school did not have to be an exercise in defeat.

My newfound drive to become a teacher was coupled with a desire to see the world, an interest inspired and encouraged by my parents, both of whom are well-traveled. I was privileged to experience the Eastern and Western Caribbean, the Mexican Riviera, Israel, the Czech Republic and Estonia all before graduating high school. I continued my education and eventually went to teacher's college all the while envisioning myself teaching overseas living both my passions simultaneously.

As I neared the end of my educational career I did what I swore I would never do, I allowed myself to become caught up in the desire to live a "normal" life, in a traditional role, with the security of a North American teaching job close to home. While there's nothing wrong with tradition, security, or being close to home, I wondered if I had let myself down. I asked myself if I would get settled and avoid embracing an overseas adventure.

My first year teaching in the GTA ended up being all the adventure I could handle. Close friends (and let's be honest, even strangers) heard my anxieties, frustrations, and failures as I navigated my way through an experience that I look back on with pride for the mere fact that I survived AND decided to stay for a second year.

I am content where I am now, enjoying my third year teaching at a great school with good students and a fun staff, but if I hadn't looked into teaching overseas, if I hadn't invested in traveling to Dakar, Senegal in August, if I hadn't applied to teach at the school I visited, if I hadn't prayed about the opportunity or objectively considered the job offer, and if I hadn't accepted the position to teach abroad THEN I might have been letting myself down.

Adventure

An adventure can be silly and fun or daunting and necessitate courage. It could be trying a new food, discovering a great restaurant for the first time, or taking a risk on a new hair stylist. It could be buying a new car, para sailing, or traveling to an unexplored destination. I love finding the adventure in life's ordinary moments but I also seek "big picture" adventure. I want to be courageous enough to take a step that could change the course of my life. This year my "big picture" adventure will take me to Dakar, Senegal in West Africa where I will teach middle school French and Social Studies. The craziness of my opportunity has yet to sink in, but in the meantime I'm enjoying the little adventures leading up to this year's feature attraction.