Today I ventured back into the broken city not expecting much of a change from my previous visits. Debris piles still remained on the street corners. My house and furniture was still covered in mold. Most stores and restaurants were closed. I'm beginning to realize that it will be at least a year until everything is completely back to "normal." It all makes me reassess my future. Not that I had any idea of what I was planning on doing in the first place before this whole mess.
My options are as follows:
1) Continue teaching at Garyville/ Mt. Airy Magnet School and eventually move back to New Orleans when I deem it appropriate.
2) Teach in the same area, but as a High School English teacher.
3) Stay in New Orleans, but forego teaching altogether and get a less stressful job where I can make more money, like a bartender or waiter.
4) Move back to the Northeast possibly Massachusettes or New York and get a less stressful job there as a bartender or waiter.
5) Move to the West Coast, possibly to Portland or San Francisco.
6) Go to graduate school for:
a) English Literature
b) Fictional Composition
c) Sports Journalism (my dream job)
While I have plenty of options, I can honestly say right now that I am not leaning in one direction or the other. The first three options involve staying in New Orleans and elicit a strong temptation to continue my in a place I generally love. The problem with these scenarios is that I cannot predict how quickly and how satisfactorily the big easy will rebuild itself. I fear that when it is ressurected, it may not remotely resemble the city I'd come to love. Teaching High School would be a breath of fresh air, but teaching is a trying profession and I'm nervous about burning out. I've never worked this hard in my life, and while many aspects of the job are fulfilling, I don't know how much I have in me. I'm not saying that teaching High School will be easier, but I do believe that having more complex content and focusing on my love of the English Language might feel more rewarding. Before I came back to Louisiana after Katrina, I seriously considered the idea of leaving it behind and moving up by my sister and getting a low stress job in Amherst. This direction would not only be socially satisfying, but also financially better. Now having the opportunity to pursue it would seem worthwhile after I had completed my teaching commitment. At the same time, I would know that after a year of "bumming it," I would return to grad school and the realm of academia. Grad School is in the stars, I just need to find out what I'll be studying and I'm not sure about that. I guess this is a similar problem that most post-collegiate folks go through, but at least it's a ways off.
I'm feeling tired. I'm happy it's the weekend. I'll definitely sleep in tomorrow. Just a brief update today...as Kurt Vonnegut once said, "So it goes."
