When I was younger, the last thing I ever wanted to be was a teacher. Although my mother was a teacher. I somehow thought that being a teacher meant that you are unsuccessful.

I have done many types of work during the years. At first I was a florist and I thought that’s what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I wanted to own my own little shop. I thought I was a creative person, although my mother reassured me that I was only about 30% creative, she was right by the way.

Then things changed and I went back to school to get my bachelors degree, I developed a profound love for psychology but went to work for a Law firm. I liked wearing business suits because I looked and felt successful even though I only earned $800 a month. Our plan was to immigrate to Australia, but we had to be on their skills list, so I studied a post graduate certificate in Education. To my dismay, the skills lists changed and they no longer needed middle school teachers in Australia. We needed to leave South Africa because the crime and public protest has become too violent and too frequent. I had sleepless nights because I feared that someone would come into our home and kill us, which is what was happening all over the country.

We then came to Korea, where most foreigners work as either ESL teachers or Engineers. I’m obviously no engineer so teaching it is then. In my time here I have come to the conclusion that although your career sets the tone for your behaviour, example no nudie pics on the internet, you don’t have to label yourself as a specific type of person. You are who you are inside. Your life is what you make it. Just because you have a desk job where you sit in a cubicle all day, it doesn’t have to define you as boring or typical. You can run your own “fight club” during the weekend for all we know. Be true to yourself, read and study things that interest you. Build your knowledge with your interests. The only way a person can be happy is if they accept responsibility for their mistakes and realise that no one is to blame. Its in the past. Get over it and focus on what’s in your life now. No one knows what the future will bring. We certainly didn’t expect our lives to turn out the way it has.