IT'S OK TO DO WHAT YOU WANT

Everyone has certain goals that they want to achieve in life. Everyone’s goals are different. That’s what makes us all unique in our own ways. After all, if we were all the same, life would get pretty boring. It’s important to know that it’s ok to be different. It’s ok to want to do your own thing. It’s ok disagree with what other’s think you should be doing with your life. It’s ok to go to college. It’s ok to not go to college. It’s ok to have a typical 9a-5p career in an office. It’s ok to have a career where your hours are constantly changing. It’s ok to own your own home-based business and set your own hours. It’s ok to get married. It’s ok to remain single. It’s ok to have children. It’s ok to not have children. It’s ok to have pets. It’s ok to not have pets. I honestly don’t know what I’d do if I never rescued my cat 7 years ago. He’s brought a lot of joy into my life when I was going through difficult times. But that’s a topic for a different story.

I have a lot of experience in many different fields. I have multiple jobs plus I have 2 small businesses, plus I am a member of a volunteer organization. People try to push me to have only 1 full time job and to give up everything else. But that’s what THEY want me to do. THEY think that’s the best thing for me. The problem with that? I feel like that doesn’t work for me. I feel that wouldn’t make me happy. Especially because the job that THEY want me to work full time, is not the job that makes me the happiest. I tried to explain that to a few people (not that I should have to explain myself to anyone). THEY want me to work a certain job, because they feel it will generate the most income for me. What they don’t realize is that the position I am in in one of my other jobs will eventually be my breadwinner. Not everything happens overnight. Sometimes we must work a few years towards a goal so that we can generate the income that we want. That is the case with me.

For the past 2.5+ years I have been an EMT instructor aide. However, I have been an EMT for over 25 years. I’ve put a lot of time, effort, and dedication into being an EMT. I enjoy it and I love helping people. In 2018 I saw a job ad for an EMT instructor aide. I said to myself that I thought I might like that (even though it’s not on the ambulance, it’s to teach others how to be an EMT), so I applied for the position. After taking a test and sitting through an interview – I was hired – and I started in December 2018.

I’ll never forget how nervous I was during the first few days. I wasn’t used to being up in front of a group of people. The classes weren’t huge, but even still, it was a new experience for me. I was partnered with good instructors, and they allowed me to only teach the topics that I was 100% comfortable in (meaning that I’d be able to answer just about every question the students asked).

The requirements initially were that I’d assist teaching the instructor(s) who I was paired with each semester. In addition, I would have to take a test (which I later found out was the NREMT exam – which I passed with flying colors). I would also have to give a lecture on a topic that the state chooses for me to speak on (which is supposed to be approximately 15 minutes). I would then be given 3 scenarios in which I would have to prove to the state that I know how to perform my EMT skills. The longer I’m an EMT aide, the more nervous I became. It was more because of having to have to go in front of the state for the evaluations. All of this was supposed to be accomplished within two years of becoming an aide. So that meant that I had until the end of December 2020. And then COVID hit.

Now I know COVID hit a lot of people hard when it came to their companies. In my state, all schools closed in the middle of March 2020 – including the EMS training center that I work for. The training center was closed until July 2020. When we reopened, we had very strict rules that we had to follow. But I was also worried about what would happen with my progress as an EMT instructor aide. I had less that 6 months left to complete the instructor process. Or so I had thought. I’m glad I started inquiring about it because the state eliminated the timeline requirements. So, I knew I’d be fine. So, the only thing I was now worried about was having to go in front of the state because of what I had heard from other instructors who had recently gone through the process. I was told that it’s extremely difficult for people to pass the practical skills part of the evaluation. So, I was very concerned about that. I wanted to make sure that I knew my skills matter-of-factly. I know that I’m proficient; but am I proficient enough for the state? And then we received some great news.

The school has a high enough passing rate that it’s allowed to have its own instructor program! That’s incredible! That means that now I won’t have to go to the state to be evaluated. Instead, my peers will decide whether I have what it takes to me an EMT instructor or not. This is my make-it or break-it semester because this is the final semester as an EMT instructor aide. I’ve been assigned two mentors for this semester. I don’t know if I should see that as a good thing or a bad thing (lol) but it’ll definitely keep me on my toes all semester.

There are certain things that I’m required to accomplish this semester. I have to make lesson plans for every class. I must do most, if not all, of the instructing in every class. This is the semester where I really have to prove my knowledge as an EMT and show my mentors that I am 100% proficient with my EMT skills. In addition to all of that, I’m also required to complete the same online portion of the class that the students have to complete. Oh yea, and I also must take all the same written tests that they are required to take in class. Sounds super stressful, right? Well, it is; and it isn’t.

It is stressful because it’s a lot or work that I have to make sure I make time for. I’m required to keep up with the syllabus as if I was a student. It’s stressful because I have to make sure I’m prepared for the tests, just as if I was a student. It’s stressful because I have to make sure I correctly answer the students’ questions. But it’s also not stressful. It’s not stressful because I feel respected by the students. It’s not stressful because I still always learn something new. It’s not stressful because I feel like I have found friends in a few of the instructors. It’s not stressful because every day is different. It’s not stressful because I ENJOY it. That is the most important thing to me. You have to be truly happy in whatever you have chosen as your career path.

I still have approximately six months to go before I complete the requirements to become an EMT instructor. I am hoping that my mentors with continue to see my potential. I am hoping that I will receive only the best reviews from them. I just have to keep doing what I’ve been doing. Just as long as I remember that there is always room for me to improve.