My journey on the road called “Educator”
The Road Not Taken
BY ROBERT FROST
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves, no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less travelled by,
And that has made all the difference.
This poem by Robert Frost has always been my favourite. The very thought of where I would have been and what I would have been doing if I hadn’t decided to be an educator always torments me.
To start with, when I was at school, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do and which career I wanted to pursue, but one thing I was so sure of was that I DID NOT WANT TO BE A TEACHER. Not that I did not enjoy teaching, it was just that I had seen my friends call teachers by nicknames that weren’t so nice and talk about them behind their back, make fun of them, and I was so sure that I did not want to experience any of these.
As I grew up and graduated from college, I immediately found a part-time internship job in TERI. We were in charge of collecting samples to calculate pollution. Though stressful, I had an excellent time and I truly cherish the wonderful memories. Just when I was trying to follow this path, fate had other plans for me. I found myself in the ‘Land of the rising Sun’ with no knowledge of the language. Thinking about it now, the amazing experiences I had, the various path I trod on is truly something I will cherish for life. I tried various types of jobs, like helping my friend run an Indian restaurant, worked in a ticketing office, managed to give a radio talk show with my broken Japanese knowledge. Every single experience helped me make more friends and learn the language better. Finally, I landed the job of a teacher in a small conversation school. As days progressed my student strength increased many folds. I found myself catering to 3 years old to adults who were in their 70s.
I soon realized my strength, and the satisfaction I got after each session. It was not the salary, it wasn’t the praise but something much deeper. I was so excited trying out the various teaching aids for my classes that before I knew it I realized that was my calling.
Every class, every student was so special to me that 14 years later I am still in touch with most of them. The fear, the mental blockage that I possessed slowly vanished and I found that I was meant to be an educator all along.
Some learn it the easy way, some learn it the tough way. I guess I learned it by doing and I have no regrets.
To date, I wonder what if I had continued to resist…… where would I be.
