The Kat Files

     I have been an educator for the past fourteen years. Recently, with my husband’s blessing, I was given the gift of one year off, a sabbatical of sorts. I planned on keeping a journal about my time off to have a record of how well I used my time throughout the year. A friend suggested I blog this new chapter of my life. Cool idea! One tiny problem, I knew nothing about blogging. Fortunately, with a another friend’s encouragement and a former student’s help, I now have a blog.

     It has taken me almost two months to write my first post. Why, you might ask? So much has happened in my life since school started on August 12th. Basically, I over extended myself. Yes, I figured being a full-time wife and mother was not going to fill my whole day, so I decided to fill my day with some new activities.  

     First, let me establish what I want to do with my year. Besides reorganizing my life and repainting my house, I want to get back into the entertainment business. Now, let me give you a brief history of why I’m not currently in that business, and how I became an educator in the first place. I have a degree in Drama & Communications. When I graduated from college, I worked for a local PBS television station. After working there for about a year, I left to work as a production manager at a small advertising agency. Needless to say, that experience proved daunting. It was “Melrose Place” without the good looking guys. A word of advice….never leave a job you like a lot just to make more money elsewhere. I had a fatter paycheck, but was miserable. Don’t get me wrong, more money is great, but your happiness is greater. This is definitely the lesson I learned from my advertising experience.   

     Anyway, at that time in my life I was a wife with a preschool age son. I felt guilty every evening when I picked my son up from school. He seemed to always be the last child in aftercare. And, he always seemed sad. One day, by the grace of God and a with the help of a parakeet named Sammy, I quit my advertising job. I took a part-time position at Barry Jr.’s school. Long story short….I went back to school and earned my teaching certificate in Lower Elementary. Another word of advice…never leave a career in something you really like because of one bad experience or stay in a career you don’t like because of FEAR. Fear kept me in education for fourteen years of my life. Don’t get me wrong, being a teacher can be rewarding. I loved my students, and it afforded me the opportunity to have the same schedule as my children. To put it simply, I was never passionate about teaching. 

     I spent last year reading some books on spiritualty by Eckhart Tolle and Dr. Wayne Dyer, and watched a movie called The Shift with Dr. Wayne Dyer. The messages I received from the information in their books and Dr. Dyer’s movie helped me to make the decision to take this year off. I am trying very hard NOT to let fear be a factor in making my future decisions about my life.

     Despite the fact that I have been really busy, I am having a great time. I took an acting class with Veleka Gray. She is a wonderful actress who has worked on soap operas, television programs, and movies. I am producing a three-to-five minute feature on a local artist for public television; networking with actors, producers, and directors in the television and film business; and writing a blog. In addition to my projects, I am helping Andrew break into the business as an actor. We are attending workshops, and both of us are in the process of signing with a talent agent in Louisiana.  It is an exciting time. Meanwhile, I still have to take care of my pets, my husband, my children, and my house.

     Did I mention? I’m also subbing at the school I taught at last year. I’ll be there for most of October. However, my horoscope this week in the TV Guide states, “Cosmic activity in the career area of your chart suggests one phase of your work life must end for another to begin. It won’t be easy to let go of the people that have been your anchor for so long, but it must be done because a new life awaits you.”

GOOD-BYE second grade and HELLO Hollywood!