Job vs. Career

When I was at the WCPA Conference earlier in the fall semester, I attended a program that Peter Brooks put on called "Orbiting the Giant Hairball". The program focused mostly on inefficiencies found in many of our administrative processes. Near the end of the program, he talked about something that really stuck with me. It was the idea that career and job can be different things.

When thinking about being a music teacher, it would have been my job and career. When I got out of graduate school, I viewed being a residence hall director as being my job and career. Much of what I did during my day had to do with my Residence Hall Director position. Being in my 4th year as a Residence Hall Director, I see things differently. I feel established in a community. I am getting married in less than six months. I feel a call to a different profession. I have passions in areas outside of housing.

I am starting to realize that being a Residence Hall Director is a job. It is a job that I enjoy very much, but it is a job. It is not my career. My career lies on another path, one I continue to explore and refine. It doesn't mean I view my RHD job any less, it just means it is one part of me, it is not all of me. I have appreciated feeling more well-rounded and well-balanced when I can put my energy into many areas.

Exploration and Transition

I returned from the Exploration 2006 conference at approximately 12:10 AM when I walked into my apartment doors. Needless to day, as I type this message I have not yet fully processed the weekend that was. Over the next few days, you will see my thoughts and reflections on what was a life altering conference experience. For now, I thought I would show you a few of the pictures that I took while in Jacksonville.

"Four in a Row"

So, technically I saw this in the airport in Minneapolis. This is what happens when you want to sell Connect Four but you can't because the name is copyrighted. You create a really cheap looking version of the game and you call it Four in a Row.

These Aren't Your Oshkosh Bridges

Walking along the St. Johns River, I saw a variety of bridged connecting Jacksonville. This bridge which moves to accomodate traffice actually operates by having the middle section more straight up in the air. I had never seen that before but it seemed much easier to operate than the mechanisms we have in Oshkosh.

That's a Big Banana

This was a banana that I had with lunch on Saturday. That banana is huge! I have never seen bananas this big ever. It was also very tasty.

As I said before, the conference was truly a transformative experience. As I go through my materials, my reflections and my journal I will do a variety of posts over the next few days. Stay tuned!