CENGA

This is not where I thought that I was going to be. I was getting a college education. I was going to be a fantastic teacher--all my observers told me so.  I was going to come out of school and go into a full-time job at a school that was perfect for me.

Reality check. I am a substitute. Prone to go where the yellow slip takes me, whether that be French class, special education, History, or gym.  Why did I learn words/phrases like "differentiated learning" or "standardized" or "objective"? I spent hours creating fake lesson plans and then spent even more time creating real ones.  Now every day is a new study hall.  A full day telling students that they can talk quietly or work on other homework.

I am lucky to have a job in a school.  I am lucky to be getting paid for work in my field. I just find it hard to believe that this is God's big plan for me sometimes. When I heard the new term for our generation, College Educated, Not Going Anywhere (CENGA), I had to smirk.  With many of my friends unemployed or working in an entirely different field than what they went to school for, this term seems to be true. 

But we are going somewhere.  Whether these jobs are speed bumps or stepping stones in our lives, they will lead to where God wants us.  So I guess we are going somewhere.  Even if it is not where we planned.

For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. ~Jeremiah 29:11