This is the first of a handful of blog posts over the next few weeks aimed at you understanding who I am, where I come from and what I am all about.
For me personally it’s a little bit open and ‘out there’ but I’m reliably informed by those in the know that it’s important to show who you are, so, deep breath, sip of something yummy, here goes. What I wanted to do when I grew up…
As the elder of two siblings, and a complete bossy boots, there was never any question about what I wanted to do when I grew up – of course I was going to be a teacher!
I would put on my 6 year old specs (yep – blue, horn rimmed, ‘70’s National Health – don’t even go there) and peer over them at my 4 year old, utterly bored, brother, his friends, the dog and anyone else I could cajole into the game.
My mother used to say I just needed to be in charge.
Whether that comes from being the elder sibling or some other place I don’t know, and haven’t researched, but I suspect it has something to do with it.
I was lucky to put my lifelong teaching goal to work early on at 18 through to 21.
Growing up on the Isle of Wight we were a key destination for foreign students wanting (or their parents wanting them) to learn better English over the Summer.
Hands up, it was the best paid Summer job for college aged kids available so I did it.
I hated it!
It took me one Summer to realise that I didn’t want to teach people who didn’t want to learn – OMG hats off to most senior school teachers in the UK and probably across the globe.
But thank goodness I found out before embarking on the teaching path.
After a completely different career in financial marketing, which was fun, I found something I love: partly by accident, partly by process of elimination, ie: planning events, weddings, parties etc., and since 2002 have never looked back.
Perhaps the best bit of all is that, co-owning the UKAWP, as well as running ternevents, I now get to teach, train and coach people who really do want to learn!
Life can be amazing and it tells us what we need to know if we listen.
Image credits: Zoe C Photography, Adam Hollier, Kate Nielen.