Naysayers -- Where Were You?

I had the privilege to be raised in an era (and in a family) that encouraged doing anything you wanted to do. You could be anything if you set your mind to it, right? I could have been an astronaut, a cowboy, a princess or a Barbie. I could have been a doctor, a lawyer, a veterinarian, or I even coulda been a contender! (Hahahahhahahahhah.) All I was instructed to do what work hard not to eliminate my options before I met up with them and the world would be my oyster.

Now what? I have worked hard in school and in life to make sure I could do whatever it was that I wanted. All I really learned is that these kinds of things take time, energy, and paperwork so I find myself trying to decide what to do next. "You can do anything, Annika!" Yeah, well, where were my naysayers when I needed them? When I was told I couldn't pull off AP Physics, guess what? I did it. When that "open minded professor" told me I would never get an A in her class with my stubbornness, guess what? When I was told I wouldn't get into grad school, guess what? Well, unfortunately, all you naysayers have finally been convinced. So now what do I do? I tell people I want to go to London to teach and all I get in encouragement; I say I want to come back to the States, teach and take over the educational reform front, I only get encouragement. I could take a few years off and be a ski instructor in France (no, I just met a girl who did this while paying off school debts) and I bet I could get some supporters.

When you've been raised in an environment that challenged you to the limit, what do you do when you reach the top and find out you've still got options? All it takes is some time and I could go anywhere and do anything and it's the most frustrating situation I've ever known. I wish there was some dictator like force in my life to tell me... "Now, you go to Colorado and teach. I said, 'Go!'" Or whatever the instructions where. There is a quote (whoa, Annika has a quote?) that says, "Our greatest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our greatest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure." Oh Mrs. Roosevelt, you tells it like you sees it.

So what next? When have we made the last big move? The last big change? When do you fall into comfortable stagnation? When exactly is it that I've locked myself into a state/city/job/relationship that will last me the next 30 or so years? All I can say is "I don't wanna." Take that, Eleanor.