Third Time's A Charm

The older (and supposedly wiser) I get, the more I realize how many times in life things come full circle. It's a strange but comforting phenomenon.

I have decided to go back to school to get my Masters in Teaching.

You are probably thinking to yourself, "Wait, haven't I read this post before?" To answer your question, yes, you have. Maybe twice. Like I said, life has come full circle.

There's the short version. If you want the long version, keep reading.

I was originally going to start the Masters in Teaching program at Whitworth in June 2008. Yes, I realize that is a whopping three years ago. Full circle, I tell you! I deferred my acceptance when we decided to live in London because I obviously couldn't do both... and who chooses school over living in London for five months? Maybe some scholarly, responsible, goal-oriented person. In other words, not me. :) The plan was to begin when we got back just in time for June 2009. I actually applied to Gonzaga's MIT program that spring because I found out it was a part-time program, allowing me to still work full-time. At that point my income was our only income with Jordan still in law school. It was the perfect plan until Gonzaga decided to completely change the schedule, making it impossible to work while doing the program. I just didn't feel comfortable having both of us in school without any income (responsible, right?!); so alas, I deferred my acceptance to BOTH Whitworth and Gonzaga that year... again.

At that point, my confidence in my plan to get my Masters in Teaching was completely shaken. Was this really what I was supposed to do? Too many things just weren't falling into place. About a month or two later, I had the epiphany of starting our photography business and I ran with it while the school idea fell by the wayside. Little did I know it would actually be pretty successful... and then came the Photo Booth... and, well, let's just say we haven't really come up for air until now.

It was at some point late this last summer when I realized that I just could not make wedding photography my full-time career. And let's be honest, besides the Photo Booth, that's the only thing around this area you can make money doing in the photography world. Logistically I could do it, but emotionally and physically I was hanging on by a thread. It got easier and I began to really enjoy it, but the thought of doing it FOREVER as my career was daunting. And not to mention my summers and weekends would be gone and I would be on a completely opposite schedule than Jordan.

That's when it all came full circle...

The Masters in Teaching programs that had fallen through twice led us to start Flat 4 Photography, which has opened up so many doors for us and really been a huge blessing in so many ways. At the same time, the stress of photographing ten weddings this year while working full-time and running the Photo Booth too... well, it brought me right back to square one.

I will be starting Whitworth's Masters in Teaching program in June. I am so confident God has led me back to this starting block for a reason and this is where I'm supposed to be. Third time's a charm, right?! :)

Does this mean I'm done with photography? Absolutely NOT. But I will be limiting myself quite a bit. I am only allowing myself to shoot one wedding per month this summer and fall, and I will be outsourcing most of my editing (which is the most time-consuming part of photography anyway.) We are still rocking the Photo Booth and will continue to do so as long as we possibly can! I will definitely have to be more selective with photography sessions due to my schedule, at least until I'm done with school. And that's the beauty of being a teacher -- I will be free every summer and weekends to pick and choose what I want to do with photography. :)

Oh yeah, the details of the MIT program. In case you're interested...

The program is a 14-month, full-time, intensive program that starts this June. I have kicked around the idea of continuing to work at Home Environments (my dad's business, where I work now) on Sundays only, but other than that possibility, I will not be working at all. My goal is to ultimately teach high school English and possibly coach volleyball if it works out that way. I have one class I still have to take to complete my English endorsement before school starts and I have to retake the West-E endorsement test I already took (and already passed) since the state requirements have all changed since 2008. Annoying, but to be expected. After all, Murphy's Law still knows my maiden name. ;)

As much as I'm not looking forward to the "school" part of going back to school, I think it will be worth it in the end and I am finally starting to get excited about it. If you have any advice for me (or tips on how to land a teaching job in Spokane...), please let me know!