One step, two steps, three steps, four

I'm thinking more and more that my future after JET is not going to be teaching.

I love teaching. I really TRULY do. I like my students a lot and I especially love coming across students who really seem to like learning what I have to teach (English, if you haven't caught on).

However-

There are so many things I want to do with my life. I don't have any real precise image or plan, but I have an idea what it is.

I love studying Japanese, too, but that's not necessarily entirely where I feel myself going either.

I have a grad school program in mind that I want to get into after JET. What I want to do with it afterward is still unknown, but I've learned very important things from applying and getting into JET.

I wanted to apply and get into JET for a while before I even became a Japanese major. At the time, though, I really didn't have a real image of what my job or life would be like. The image in my mind was extremely fuzzy, vague, and somewhat unreal to me. Still, I knew that it was something I really wanted to do. I began trying my best to be someone who would definitely be qualified for the ALT position.

And, as you know, I got into the program and it has, so far, exceeded my expectations.

So yeah, following what you want to do and working hard at it seems like a good life strategy.

So, after JET, I am going to get into a good grad school program that strikes me as something I want to do. I won't worry about the outcome because if I am following my own heart and dedicating myself to it, things will fall together and the next step will become crystal clear.

Whether I'll ever know exactly where I am headed, I don't know. But I can choose paths that appear to lead to places that I would like to end up.

After all, life is about the journey. The destination means nothing if the journey is pointless.

I'm sleepy.