Finding Your Dream

Beth was a small-town girl with a dream of becoming a singer one day. She sang in the church and school choirs and had the occasional solo but was a bit shy about her talent. Singing in church was easy for her; it was something she had done most of her life, but when she thought about performing in front of people she didn’t know, Beth would hesitate.

She heard about an audition in her area and decided to go just to see what would happen. The feedback was great and the follow-up letter was an offer to record, but her fears were greater than her dream even though she was encouraged by her family. Beth decided to continue finishing high school and go to the local technical college. There were numerous obstacles and she didn’t finish college, but she knew she would go back one day.

She worked different jobs throughout her life but never found a career. Beth’s favorite job was substitute teaching because it allowed her to spend time with her family and to help other children learn. She was always interested in learning something new and enjoyed helping others learn as well. Even though she enjoyed it and became a paraprofessional, she still wasn’t passionate enough about it to remain in the position. When her job had been part of the budget cuts for that year, she decided to go back to school. This time she knew what her focus would be and where she saw herself in workforce. Beth wanted to become a Medical Assistant.

Going back to school in her late thirties was scary. How would she fit in? Would she be able to keep up? She was able to fit in and found that there were more students her age than she anticipated. Beth struggled with some of the classes, but so did others, and she didn’t feel like a huge failure when she needed help. She made the Dean’s List and graduated with a 3.5 GPA, which wasn’t bad for someone who had been out of school for over twenty years.

Going back to work after graduation was difficult, and she didn’t for nearly two years. So, while she was waiting on the perfect job, she volunteered at her daughter’s school and picked up a few hobbies. When the job finally came, it was close to home and in a private practice; these were the things she had prayed for. Working again was great, Beth enjoyed the job; being able to get to know the patients was fun and challenging. After a while Beth was given more responsibility within the practice and she found that to be rewarding. She was working both the front and back office, which meant she was at the front desk part of the week and in the back with the providers too. Working the front desk was challenging because she answered every phone call and helped every person that came in the door; it was a busy job. Working the back office was equally busy because each provider had their own way of dealing patients and everyone had to be handled with care.

She found that one of her hobbies was always on her mind. Photography had become something that she relied on the relax and decompress with. Beth had been taking photos for a while, but more recently of her daughter’s performances and a few small events when family and friends requested. She loved the editing portion of photography; being able to take an image and tweak it slightly to a more beautiful work of art was extremely rewarding to Beth. She wondered often if she could be a professional photographer. Beth’s husband encouraged her to start a business just taking photos at small events such as birthday parties. She also discovered stock photography; it’s a way to sell images taken of landscapes or architecture that doesn’t have any distinct markings. She was truly enjoying photography and where it was taking her.

In 2016 Beth and her family relocated to be near her ailing parents. As she said goodbye to her job, she knew that photography was waiting on the other side. Beth was planning to take the business and cultivate it into something more profitable that would work with her new responsibilities. Now she is selling stock images online and has the occasional portrait session or event to photograph. Beth has since reconnected with a friend from college who is a full-time wedding photographer and has become a second shooter for weddings.

The moral of the story is you can have many dreams along your journey in life, but as you grow into an adult and as an adult they may change. Beth’s did and each time she was happy with her choice until she found another passion that was more fulfilling than the last. Be happy in what you do because life is too short to be unhappy with your work.