This is going to be a short blog….this is because I am a scatter brain right now. Between work and school, I have not had any time to really focus on myself. I did learn some things about my future though. I have made plans and I have set them in stone, technically that makes me close minded. I need to not be closed minded and instead be open minded. I have my entire life ahead of me and I seem to have every step of it planned out. I had an awakening the other day. I had to write the second part of my auto biography and it was based on my future and where I saw myself. I began to really dig deep and find out that I have planned my life out and that people change and my future might not end up being everything I thought it might be…it could be more or less but I need to be content and balanced with however I allow it to turn out. I was talking to my friend about school this week too. She gave me some serious advice and asked me questions that I really had to think about in order to answer them. It is good to have a plan, but I don’t think it is always a good idea to set everything in stone. That leads to no room for change or improvement. Maybe UC Berkeley served its purpose already and maybe I am better set for NYU or Stanford or even a smaller school that I can achieve my wildest dreams at. Who knows?.....................

In a perfect world, which by the way I KNOW I can create, I would be a neurological nurse by night and a writer by day. Actually, I would take nurse by day and writer by night also. Then again, I would be willing to be a participant in both arenas anyway they came to me.
For any of you that have heard me speak before you would know that I am currently in school striving for a nursing degree. I settled on this career choice after an amazing conversation I had with a friend. She brought to my attention the ability I have to sincerely care for others, multi task efficiently and my hunger for a constantly changing work environment. I’ve never been the nine to five kind of girl that would be satisfied in an office all day, Monday through Friday. That just doesn’t excite me and frankly in the country we live in we have too many options to just settle where your heart is unhappy. After she made those claims she moved right along with the, “And you know it helps to have job security Jodi.” By then I was all in, I couldn’t disagree with any of the fabulous points she had made and even better, the type of schedule nursing provides would allow me flexibility in my days to create, books as a matter of fact. This all sounded too good! That leads me to my other career desire. I love writing and it has always been a passion that I keep in my room next to my bed. Not too many people see what it is I write but a few years back I had an epiphany that I would one day publish a series of children’s books. Books that would tell the same stories I tell my girls and teach the same lessons I share with them. What an amazing feeling I would feel to know that little boys and girls could go to sleep at night with a piece of the magic I have gained from my own children. Most of my stories either star them or have been a result of something we have experienced together.
As I sit here writing this blog, I realize, both of my dream world jobs have a common thread. The common thread is sharing a piece of me with as many people as possible. That is the kind of work that makes my heart happy. The kind of work that challenges me to be the best I can be everyday. I wouldn’t want to share myself any other way.
The coolest part about it all is I have no doubt in my mind that I will achieve these goals. I have learned that ANY thing I set my mind to, I can achieve. That alone makes me excited for everyday I get a little closer to those goals. Everyday I show up for another round of four classes in a row. Everyday I endure another struggle that I get to write about. Everyday I get to swing at the park with my girls and tell a magical version of it on paper. It’ll all be a reflection when I arrive at a time in my life where I can introduce my self as, Jodi the neurological nurse and children’s book author!

Dream Job.
My idea of a dream job has changed a thousand times in my life. I’ve wanted to be everything from a news anchor to an astronaut; a cameraman to a cyclist; a writer to a teacher; and recently a professional snowboarder (I just discovered snowboarding and am not that good, yet). My mind wanders at the possibilities and never lands on one thing for very long. I usually am drawn to the jobs that have something to do with what I like at the time. And right now, I like American Sign Language. I love learning the language and learning about the deaf community. It’s something I have a passion for. So right now, I want to be a Sign Language interpreter.
If you ask me in a few months maybe it will have changed. Maybe I will have seen a really great movie and my dream of being a film director will have returned. Maybe I will catch the Olympic fever and want to take up cycling again. I don’t know, but what I do know is I will no longer put limitations on myself. For a long time I thought I wasn’t smart enough, or capable enough to do the things I had dreamed of. But now, I want to dream again, and know that anything is possible. I can do anything I put my mind to. The only thing that is stopping me is me. It’s a little heavy in the cheese department, but it’s true.
Why can’t I write a book, learn a language, direct a movie, and win gold metals? Who says I can’t? Today, my dream job is to be a Sign Language interpreter, and today I know I can be.