Determining My Life Focus & Direction

Tania 32 Comments

In my 2016 Goals post, I talked about wanting to determine my life focus & direction again, after my ability to play my oboe & become a musician has become impossible due to my EDS. So I thought I would talk you through how I’m going to go about this.

Loosing the ability to play was something I fought of a long time. Without realising it, I’ve been in mourning for my dream career for the past 5 years. Well, not anymore! I refuse to let my life & happiness be dictated by the things I can’t do. So in order to find true happiness, I need to take a good look at what I want & make positive steps to achieving them.

Life Focus

To truly replace my playing, I need to look at what I really want to do on a basic level. I’ve always wanted to do something amazing & be someone special. To make a positive difference to other peoples lives. I used to think I would do that with my music by playing, but I think I’ve found another way to achieve this! It may even be a better fit for the fundamental things I want to achieve. I’m going to become a Learning Support Assistant (LSA) in a secondary school!

It’s as if it’s the perfect job for me! I’m already familiar with a number of physical & mental health conditions, as well as specific learning difficulties. In my instrumental teaching I have taught students with a range of these, plus I have the added benefit of knowing what it’s like for these students having experienced them myself. Who better to empathise & support students than someone who has been through similar things to them! By doing this I could make a difference in the lives of students with illness, disability & specific learning difficulties. Not just in terms of their academic achievement either, I could lead by example & show them that they are worthwhile individuals who have a lot to offer the world & that their difficulties don’t define them. How much more special could you get?

I would love to start as a part time LSA to give myself time to rest so I can give my all to the kids I work with. From there I could build up the number of days I work & responsibilities I take on & maybe even train as a classroom teacher in the future. A while ago I looked into becoming a classroom music teacher. I wanted a career rather than a job & knew that instrumental teaching held very little prospect for this. I applied to one uni with a glowing recommendation from the head of music of the school I wanted to train at. I didn’t get a place at the university but actually I think this was probably a good thing as my health declined subsequently. Becoming a teacher is looking way into the future & I don’t want to move my aim from something unattainable to something that may also be unattainable, so I’m going to take things a step at a time.

At present, I already have the prerequisites for this role. While some schools require GCSE C or above in English & Maths, others ask for a degree – which I have. In order to improve my chances of securing a job I’m going to start teaching myself basic sign language with the vast resources the internet, including YouTube, has to offer. I’m also going to continue my instrumental teaching so I don’t become out of touch with education.

I’m not going to put a time limit on when I want to achieve this, as know that when I become a Mum my focus will be on my child & I can’t wait for that! These plans could change as a result of my new responsibility & I don’t want to feel I’ve failed with my career plans because I’m putting my child first. They always need to be priority in my life.

I also need to remember that what ever goals I set myself, even if I’m not able to achieve them, I am still achieving things towards them & that’s something to be immensely proud of. While I know I will never be a professional musician, I got a scholarship to music college! Not many people can say that! Plus, I have a degree to show for it, which opens up doors.

I hope this has helped to demonstrate that there are many ways to achieve happiness & that we all have a place in this world, even if we aren’t able to do the things we once imagined we would.

What’s your life focus & direction?

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32 Comments

    • Thank you so much Zoe! It will be a very rewarding career. I just want to get started now! First things first though, gotta have my own little bundle of joy & see how I’m able to manage that. It’s a really great feeling to have found something I’m passionate about & am excited to do again. Xx

    • Thank you so much Zoe! It will be a very rewarding career. I just want to get started now! First things first though, gotta have my own little bundle of joy & see how I’m able to manage that. It’s a really great feeling to have found something I’m passionate about & am excited to do again. Xx

  6. Sounds fab – the LSA role seems like such a great way to help others too.

    Good luck!

    Arianna / ariannachatz.blogspot.co.uk

  7. I feel so excited for you reading this! LSA sounds like such a rewarding role with in itself. One of my class mates teaches music to those with learning difficulties and I always hear her talk about amazing she feels seeing a student play music when doctors said they’d never be able to. Wishing you all the best!

    Sally ~ DiagonSally

    • Thank you so much Sally! It will be an amazing feeling to know I’m making a positive difference in a young person’s life. Especially as I can draw on my own experiences & show them that they are not alone & that they can still achieve things despite the difficulties they face. I’m really excited about it & just wish I could get started sooner! Xx

    • Thank you so much Sally! It will be an amazing feeling to know I’m making a positive difference in a young person’s life. Especially as I can draw on my own experiences & show them that they are not alone & that they can still achieve things despite the difficulties they face. I’m really excited about it & just wish I could get started sooner! Xx

    • Thank you so much Danielle! It’s taken a long time to get to this point & will take a long time to get to put everything into practice with everything else going on in my life, but at least I can see a clear path & can work to get there. Xx

    • Thank you so much Danielle! Yes, you’re right. Everything does work out in the end. Good luck finding your path. Xx

  9. That’s wonderful you have found and new focus. I think you have the right approach– think of what you want and adapting it so that it fulfils that but still be suited to you. I wish you all the best with moving forwards with it :)

    • Thanks Donna! We definitely have to adapt with our conditions & hopefully this way I’ll feel just as fulfilled, just going about it differently. Xx

    • Thank you so much Sarah! It’s a very exciting prospect & I really feel I could make a difference. It’s a shame I can’t get started on this straight away, but sometimes life is like that. It’ll be worth the wait to be able to have a child of our own, what’s two or three years in the grand scheme of things? Xx

    • Thank you so much Sarah! It’s a very exciting prospect & I really feel I could make a difference. It’s a shame I can’t get started on this straight away, but sometimes life is like that. It’ll be worth the wait to be able to have a child of our own, what’s two or three years in the grand scheme of things? Xx

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