The BEST job I ever had is one that has shaped my mere existence and taught me to be the best person I can be. I’d like to tell you all about that job BUT I think it’s only fair to give credit to some of my other  jobs as well. BECAUSE…not all of them have been great but they have all been equally important in helping me become the person I am today.

The first job I ever had, not including babysitting for neighbors, was working with my step-dad for his landscaping company… I was 15.  Several days a week, all summer, I would head out with my dad at the crack of dawn to start mowing, trying to beat as much of the heat as we could. They weren’t regular neighborhood lawns that we were mowing, they were commercial properties…apartment complexes mostly. My step-dad treated me well, paid me good money to work with him. It was with money earned from lawn mowing that I was able to buy my first car and my first snowboard. To this day, whenever I smell fresh-cut grass, I am reminded of those hot summer days, gnats swarming around my head, my shoes and socks stained green, the smell of gasoline on my hands, my arms sore from hoisting those huge garbage cans full of clippings into the dumpster, and me…guiding those huge self-propelled mowers back and forth all the while jealous of the people laying beside the pool. But mostly I am reminded of what a hard-working, amazing man my step-dad is and I’m grateful that I had the opportunity to work with him for I know that some of his work ethic rubbed off on me.

I also had a few other jobs while I was in high school…fast food pizza and burgers, that kind of thing. I remember coming home after my first shift at the pizza spot…my hands reeked of bleach because all I did was wash dishes the entire night. Regardless of how menial the task, I remember being so proud that night.

It was right before I had my daughter that I got my first good job. I worked for the state retirement office in Utah in the records department. The job was by no means exciting or difficult but it was the first time I had to dress up for work and the first time I had benefits, sick time and vacation time…I felt so fancy.  BUT being a single mom, I was always on a quest to make more money and, wanting to keep my benefits and retirement, I began looking for other state jobs. That’s when I stumbled upon one of the roughest and most challenging jobs ever.

At about 24 years old, I decided to become a correctional officer at the  Utah State Prison Department of Corrections. The application process was long…a written test, physical fitness test, drug test, interviews, and a background check. I had to complete the officer training academy, which was DIFFICULT, but I did it and, for a few dollars more an hour, I traded in my office attire for a uniform, handcuffs, a radio and some pepper spray. My job at the prison taught me SO many lessons…

• it taught me that 12 hour graveyard shifts are brutal but I can survive on 4 hours of sleep…barely
• it taught me to always be aware of my surroundings…always!
• it taught me not to take things too personal–lewd comments, threats, rants–they can’t actually hurt me
• it taught me to appreciate little things like going to the bathroom without an audience, having underwear that belongs to ONLY me, sleeping on a mattress, choosing my meals…need I say more?
• it taught me that almost anyone can end up in prison… one bad decision and your life can take a completely different turn
• it taught me that everyone in prison does not fit the “criminal” stereotype…an old prostitute with syphilis, her mind gone, a police officer’s wife writing bad checks, a mother of four addicted to prescription meds,  a young kid that killed someone in a bar fight, a man with a mental illness…inmates come from all walks of life
• it taught me sometimes you don’t want to know the whole story
• the most important lesson I learned while working at the prison is that everyone deserves a level of respect and giving that will get you a long way…people are people–regardless!

In 1999, I quit my prison job and chased a boy to Colorado. For a brief moment, I considered returning to law enforcement but that boy I chased, my now husband, supported me in reaching one of my life long goals. After being here for a year, I enrolled in college and became a full-time student. While in college, I worked as many random jobs as I could manage. I was a para-educator in a special needs classroom at the school my daughter attended, I coached girls gymnastics, I was a tutor at several local high schools, I cleaned houses, and even picked up some seasonal work with a friend making floral arrangements. I was on a mission! My daughter was eight when I started and would be my biggest motivator in finishing…asking me the entire time, “When are you going to finish school and get a real job?” I graduated in 2005 with a Bachelor’s in History/Secondary Education…I miss being in school…really really bad. If I could be a full-time student forever I’d be in heaven.

I’ve worked in education, in some capacity, since 2005. I’m currently a special educator at Smoky Hill High School where I teach social studies and support students with disabilities. The first teaching job I ever had was at a residential treatment facility for girls. I’d never, ever taught my own class…I obtained my teaching license through an alternative program so I didn’t have the experience of student teaching. It was like being back at the prison…seriously. I don’t know how much time the girls spent learning in my classroom, considering we’d be restraining someone almost daily. BUT I’d like to think that, at the least, they left my classroom a little smarter than they entered. I also taught middle school for a year, the kids were cute but teaching pre-teens was NOT my strength. They are too close to elementary school and I do better with students that understand my sarcasm and that can hold almost adult conversations.

In addition to my full-time job, I’ve worked as Zumba® instructor for almost six years. Teaching Zumba® has quite literally been one of the best experiences I’ve ever had. In 2009, I was taking a hip-hop class at the gym and became friends with a lady from class. She encouraged me to attend a Zumba® class, which I did…and I enjoyed…A LOT. In 2010, we both became licensed instructors and started teaching our own classes a few months later. What started as a small venture, in a little mixed-martial arts studio, would become a full-fledged dance fitness studio. She and I built a successful business, Dance 2-Gather, which is still in operation today. In 2014, I walked away from D2G to focus more on my family and my health, but D2G is still open and thriving.  Becoming a Zumba® instructor and starting D2G was one of my proudest accomplishments. I had to step SO far out of my comfort zone to do something…something that terrified me, but something that I have grown to absolutely LOVE.  I didn’t, however, leave Zumba® altogether–I still teach a few classes at my husband’s fitness studio, Let’s Do This Fitness.  I can’t imagine NOT teaching, it gives me life and connects me to people in a way that no other job has.

I have taken something away from every job I’ve had, something that has helped shape my character and that has made me a better person. I appreciate every experience, even though I’d rather walk into traffic than do some of them again (scrubbing dirty toilets and conducting cell searches immediately come to mind). But the best, most amazing, most important job I’ve EVER had is the job of being a mother to my daughter—Kira Michelle Despain—little McKira, my motivation for everything. Being a mom is the ONE job I’ve had that I am most proud of. It might not be the job I am best at, because truthfully, I often think I’m a better Zumba® instructor than I am a parent.  But the challenges, lessons and accomplishments I have experienced as a parent FAR surpass those I could have learned anywhere else.

So, tell me…what jobs have you had? Best…worst…the one you’ve been most proud of…what are they? I wanna hear about it!

*And stay tuned for another post where I share some of my mistakes, successes, lessons, wishes, and regrets as a parent.