Teaching English as a Second Language is not my first career, not even my second.  It is my third.  And it is a testimonial to the saying:  “It’s never too late.”  In January 1996, I moved by myself from Asheville, where I’d spent 29 years of my life, to Greenville in order to pursue a Masters Degree in English Education at East Carolina University.  I arrived a middle-aged woman without a job – but with great determination to find one quickly and to complete the Masters program in two years.  I succeeded in both, and in January 1998 moved, again by myself, to Casablanca, Morocco, where I spent the next 20 months teaching English as a Second Language.
       I spoke no Arabic and only a few basic words and phrases of French when I landed in Morocco’s largest city.  But I survived – because I was determined and willing to learn a new culture and willing to learn – or at least try to learn – a new language.  No easy task for a middle-aged person.  It is never too late to follow your heart, follow your dream,
to find your niche, to change your direction -- or change your life.  The road to success may be more challenging for a middle-aged or older person than for someone in their 20s, but it can be done.  Even in your 40s, 50s, 60s, and 70s (Think Grandma Moses.  Think retired teacher-turned-successful-writer Frank McCourt.) you can accomplish great things.
      In May this year, I “celebrated” my 10th year of teaching ESL at Pitt Community College.  Though teaching is not my first career, it is the career I have enjoyed the most and worked at the longest.  It is the profession that has given me the most intrinsic rewards because of the many people, both young and old, that I have helped to learn or improve their English.
      At some point during the next decade of my life, which begins in 2011, I hope to spend a year traveling abroad.  Now that will take some major planning and saving.  But I am determined to find a way and will persevere until I do.   The fact that I’ll be in my…. well, never mind the decade… is not important because it’s never too late to follow your dream.