A few months ago I was sitting in the park discussing with a friend life directions and choices, and he said to me "Have you ever seen that mormon message, the '500 feet in the wrong direction' one with Elder Holland?"
If you don't know what this is you can watch it here: https://www.mormonchannel.org/watch/series/mormon-messages/wrong-roads
And we discussed how life includes these detours that help us recognize when we finally land on the right path.
Well a month or so after that I had this experience in repeat, with a different friend, in a different setting, saying to me seemingly randomly "hey Krystal, do you know that mormon message? The 500 feet in the wrong direction one?" And I said, "Yeah actually..."
And then a few weeks later... repeat. And again a few weeks after that...
And it seemed to pop up a lot.
So you can watch it again if you'd like.
https://www.mormonchannel.org/watch/series/mormon-messages/wrong-roads
:)
And so when I felt the prompting to apply to BYU's MBA program I was a little wary. It felt right, but all the while in the back of my mind I think I had this video playing, and part of me wondered if the program was a "wrong road." But then I would brush it off as just being a chicken or frightened of what I didn't understand and I would plow back into my application preparations.
Until about 3ish months ago, when Brian, my institute teacher, found me studying for my retake of the GMAT in the institute building 45 minutes prior to class. He, assuming I was a BYU student, stopped to ask me what I was studying for. I began to explain, and then mid conversation, remembered that he had mentioned in class that he was a history teacher. So I looked up at him and asked in an intense way that probably took him off guard: "Did you always know that you wanted to be a history teacher?"
And a little taken aback, he answered that he hadn't, and he looked confused by my query, because here I was sitting in the hallway, prepping for business school, and fiercely interested in his vocation as a teacher... and I realized that the whole scenario was probably puzzling to him. So I paused, and said, "The reason I ask is because I'm actually a special education teacher, and I feel like I'm having a mid life crisis and don't know what I want to do with my life."
And then understanding dawned, along with a spark of pure enthusiasm, because he said, "Really?! Are you looking for a job?!"
And I thought, "Oh great, here we go..."
Because just about every time I tell someone in the education world that I have a SPED license, they try to recruit me to apply for some sort of position that I don't really want to apply for, and this was no exception. I hedged in my responses to his prompts that I should apply for a position at this school for troubled boys (attached to a residential treatment center- full benefits, full time, great working environment...) and tried to shut down the topic a little bit. He had to go, and probably sensing my mood, bid me farewell and cheerily called as he walked away, "Let me know if you need to make more money!"
That comment haunted me the rest of the week, especially since that was the week I found out that my car needed about $700 worth of repairs, and I began to realize that I didn't know what I was going to do for income over the summer, much less how I was going to pay for an MBA. And in retrospect I don't think all of that is coincidence.
And also, I think someone else mentioned to me the 500 feet thing... HMM.
So the next week when he asked me if I'd decided to apply yet I said that I would like more details, and two weeks later I found myself sitting in an interview with two very lovely people. The interview lasted an hour and a half, and about an hour into it the Spirit wrapped me up in an unmistakable embrace and I just knew that they were going to offer me the job, and I knew that I had to say yes.
So I did. That was almost a month ago. I've worked a grand total of 10 days at my new job. It's at an academy attached to a residential treatment center for troubled teen boys. I'm the first special education teacher they've ever had, and I'm tasked with building their SPED department. Almost from scratch as it were. It's overwhelming and crazy and has a steep learning curve, but when I wake up in the morning I find myself excited to go to work. And I'm beginning to fall in love with the people I work with and the opportunity I've been given. Saying goodbye to my MBA application wasn't even that difficult, although when I contemplated how many hours I spent studying for that wretched GMAT exam it almost makes me ill... (except for that now I'm all ready to teach remedial pre-algebra or algebra skills... coincidence? Or divine intervention?)
It's ok. Maybe an MBA is still in my future? Just not this year. Cause for now I'm going to be happy with where the Lord has put me right now. I'm not sure why He's stuck me there, but it fits me, and I fit it, and for now that brings a wonderful amount of peace.
