I Want to be Paid to be Me

Do you have a job?

I have two jobs. This is Significant because last year at this time I was extremely desperate for a job. I interviewed for a position running a home for handicapped individuals and failed miserably.


If you do, what is it and do you like it?

I follow an autistic student around to his classes and help him survive them. I am there to help make his disability less disabling. I enable. I bridge the gap between his world and ours.

This new curriculum for eighth graders in the Home Ec. area has been great. I have the privilege of sitting in with my student every day and learning about colleges, the state requirements for high school graduation, dreaming about the future, and job interviews. The class is really fun.

I learned what I did wrong in my interview.

And also what I did wrong on my applications for previous jobs.

Why couldn't they have taught this when I needed it?! :)

Then later in 2011 I picked up my second job tutoring another autistic child. I have learned so much about behavior, autism, learning, tutoring, and the education system.

I knew all along two things:
1. I am a good tutor and I work well with special needs.
2. I am NOT cut to fit into the box teachers have to fit in to work in this current political educational climate.

Maybe a private school or charter school, but not public; not with all the hoops.

What job would you like to have?

• I want to be an author.
• I want to be paid to deliver an inspiring message to kids about doing good, or being who they want to be, or to get an education however they can and being awesome.
• I want to be a counselor, mentor, or just hear the wonderful stories people tell because I inspired them to do things.
• I want to set my hours.
• I want to participate in my children's growth and development. Not watch them, not send them off to school every day and enroll them in classes so all I have to do is feed them and kiss their boo-boos, no. I want to play a pivotal role. I want to take them to fun places, show them how tadpoles turn into frogs, and share the stories I loved as a child.

I want to be paid to be me!

Any suggestions on how to mix all of me into some sort of independent business??


This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.