tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12793452.post259381627301028957..comments2023-10-24T09:17:18.260-04:00Comments on Working On It: Did I mention I'm a failure?Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14830332078593192792noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12793452.post-7478108273436568102008-01-14T19:31:00.000-05:002008-01-14T19:31:00.000-05:00yeah, i hide from people at the bar all the time.a...yeah, i hide from people at the bar all the time.<BR/>and it's been ten years since i graduated. <BR/><BR/>not a good feeling, either way.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12793452.post-84024425277297267832008-01-12T15:41:00.000-05:002008-01-12T15:41:00.000-05:00Oh hon, life never takes the path that we think it...Oh hon, life never takes the path that we think it will. Be patient and give yourself time.whimsical brainpanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13158339502955458999noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12793452.post-42757906554379892192008-01-12T08:43:00.000-05:002008-01-12T08:43:00.000-05:00I've never thought of selling shoes as a failure. ...I've never thought of selling shoes as a failure. I was far happier there than I am with my "real" "career" job. Even when I was selling leather shoes (totally compromising my ethics), I felt good about the fact that I was helping people - possibly changing their whole lives by getting them into a shoe they could walk, stand, live, and function in. I think most [writing] teachers are bohemian hippie types that sold out for health insurance and salary. He probably envies you! As a teacher, I never imagine what my students go on to become. I tell them whether they go to college or not, I want them to write. Whether they make a million dollars or none, I want them to write. If I were him, I would have felt happy just knowing that a student remembered me, and did so fondly, and to some extent, it would be gratifying to know that a student felt bad failing my class not just because of the grades or whatever was going on in school but because of the inherent value that the student realized my class had. Too many students get caught up in the minutia. I think if you learned something from the class, regardless of your grade, then the teacher would feel it was worth it. I'm often much more proud of my failing students who "get" something or work at the concepts than I am with students who ace it and act like I'm useless. There's a deeper connection between the struggling teacher and the struggling writer, I guess. <BR/><BR/>I think though, on some level, with people that you revere and respect, it's hard to 'own up' to anything that we're not completely ok with in our own selves. I sometimes think about my teachers from high school and feel embarrassed thinking about them finding out that now I'm 'just' another teacher. I have also often thought about writing to my former teachers to thank them and then stopped myself because I felt silly saying they inspired me to just do the same exact thing they were already doing. I don't think that selling shoes or teaching or any job has any sort of nobility rating, I think it's just that we have the personality types to always feel like we could be doing more somehow - for the world, for ourselves, etc. - and we get tripped up in the ideal version of ourselves rather than embracing the current goodness.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12793452.post-46648728754365079952008-01-12T00:28:00.000-05:002008-01-12T00:28:00.000-05:00Wow. So was this his first time in the shoe shop?...Wow. So was this his first time in the shoe shop? Was it just a random visit? Or....maybe, does he know you're there?D.B. Echohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01797128570217627410noreply@blogger.com