Way back in 2001, after the September 11th attacks, I changed my major to political science. I wanted to be informed and actually try to do something to change the world for the better.

Sounds crazy, right?

I had grand dreams of becoming a lawyer, working at the UN, and maybe in our Government.

I then realized, you have severe social anxiety girl, what are you doing?

Growing up, we were led to believe that you can get any job you wanted, within reason, as long as you had a degree. When I graduated in 2004, I had no idea what the hell I wanted to do. I was completely burnt out due to the politics at the time. I ended up, BA in hand, becoming a teller at 5/3 Bank in Cincinnati. I thought about getting different financial licenses and all that, but I knew I didn’t want that as a career. I’m not a cold-caller. I don’t like to sell people things they don’t want, and I know won’t benefit them. At the teller line, we had to pitch credit cards to every customer as “overdraft protection.” We had quotas for how many cards a shift we were supposed to ‘sell.’ The only upside is that we also received $25 per credit card we ‘sold.’

My husband, fiance at the time, and I moved to Indianapolis in 2006. I interviewed, over the phone, with a branch manager in downtown Indy. I explained I was getting married and would need two weeks off for our already planned honeymoon in July of that year. When it was time to take my honeymoon, I was told corporate docked me points on my evaluation and I wouldn’t receive a raise, even though I was the highest seller of other financial products in my branch.

My boss, Jeff, was a seriously awesome guy. He said, “You know what I would do? Quit. Fuck it.” I quit.

At the time, my husband had a great job, and it was fine that I was without a job for a few months.

I had met a mutual friend who worked in a school corporation and there was an opening for an assistant. Before I changed my major to political science, it had been elementary education. I put in an application and apparently, the principal didn’t read my phone number correctly when she tried to call me in for an interview. I still had a Cincinnati area code at the time. She filled the position with someone else and I still didn’t have a job.

Thus entering my stint in the hell hole of hotels. I had another friend that was the GM of a hotel in downtown Indy. Fuck that job. Just fuck it. Ugh.

In December of that year, another position opened and I interviewed and received the job. I was 26 at the time.

Let’s use the fast-forward machine to 2018.

I just turned 38 on Sunday and am still with the same corporation. My job has changed so many times. Classroom assistant, grade-level assistant, RTI assistant, RTI, kindergarten assistant, computer lab teacher/technology, technology.

When I was in elementary school, in a tiny town in Ohio, we had Computer Camp. It was every summer and we played games like Oregon Trail and Karateka. My brother and I would ride out bikes to school every morning and spend hours in the computer lab in the ’80s. Our instructor, Mrs. Tallman, was amazing. I loooooved computers.

In ’94, my dad got us our first computer. I played around and messed with that thing for hours on end. We continued to have that computer for years all the way until we had AOL. I spent so much time in chat rooms and then eBay, and then just EVERYTHING.

In the early ’00s, I found a website called Livejournal. I taught myself HTML and blogged constantly. Looking back at those posts…wowza. Sorry for being so full of angst and having the grammatical skills of a 1st grader.

Grammar is still not my strong suit.

When I moved to my new elementary, in the same district, they hired a new computer lab teacher. She lasted two weeks. My principal said, “A little birdie told me you’re great with computers.” That started three years of teaching computer lab; I absolutely loved it.

When the school grew too big, my job had to change. I didn’t like it at all. It was either, continue teaching computer lab, but not really since it was all an automated program, lose your hours and benefits, or become solely under the tech department. I wasn’t happy. I loved working with my students. Losing my hours and benefits just wasn’t an option.

Onto the next three years…

I’ve been known as a tech aid. It doesn’t really encompass what the hell I do for a building of over 1,000 people. Starting last year, my boss, the director of IT, has told me to get my A+ certification. What this does is elevate my position to building technician. It sounds good for the entire corporation, but it’s also just leaving money on the table. When I get this certification, I receive an $11K raise.

I bought the CompTIA book not too long after and STRUGGLED. It’s soooo dry. I’m very hands on and this was just awful and over my head. I have a friend, also in IT, that happens to teach an A+ course. She reached out to me in one of my online groups and gave me a seat to her program. This save me thousands of dollars and my sanity.

It’s still very rough. My brain is in overload and it’s hard to absorb things that are so complex. I think I’m doing okay, though. I now know how to select form factors for cases, what SATA connectors are and where they go, and where those fucking front and rear fan connectors go on a motherboard. I wanted to throw shit at that one. I can connect the audio, LED, power switch, etc. and properly connect a power supply and how to tell if it needs replaced. I’m learning about Linux. Yay, me.

I still have eight chapters to go and my binder is already almost 2″ thick of just information, labs, and exams.

I’m 38.

Still learning.