I was taken aside one day by a senior colleague who asked what I wanted to do with my life.
That is a difficult question for a drifter to answer. I said I was just happy to carry on with being a part-time teacher, having no ambitions at all in life.
What I didn’t know at the time was that she was preparing me for taking over her post after her departure for her home country (a year or so later, which was not known at the time by anyone except herself).
I said I didn't care about titles and all that. She said having a first degree was not enough for modern-day employers, if I wanted to survive in the jobs market, suggesting that I go for at least an MA, if not a PhD.
The next question was what to study. She proposed Education or Linguistics since I like both.
Being a Libran (described by some people as “the unbalanced balance” sign, constantly yo-yo-ing), it’s difficult for me when presented with a choice. (I’m very good, however, at managing other people’s lives and making decisions for them...) Well, this senior colleague had pointed out the way for me, and narrowed it down to two subject options. All within five minutes of a face-to-face conversation.
As staff could attend for free, I thought I’d try out the basic Linguistics course on the university’s evening programme, and see how I’d feel about Linguistics on an MA level.
With the balls set rolling for doing post-graduate studies and which subject to pursue, the ball was now in my court to act on it. (Enter the next guardian angel, in the next blog.)
(London, 1991)
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