There's always something sad about the end of summer. When I was little I used to get a cold shiver of fear running down my back when I saw the fateful words 'Back To School' popping up on shops and on the telly. It felt like I'd finally found happiness only to see it cruelly taken away and dashed in a world of stuffy classrooms and painful exam stress.When you work for a living it's different of course, and if you're lucky you scrape together two consecutive weeks in the summer, spend the first winding down, and the second worrying about going back. I always thought of holidays as little oases of calm that I could briefly cling onto before plunging back into the maelstrom.
My life is different now, and what's more I'm self-employed again. This way of life suits me because I've never done well in hierachical situations, as I've never been willing or able to play politics. I detest having a boss, and historically I've always clashed with them. I also never felt comfortable within the confines of an office ecosystem, always finding it suffocating rather than comforting. Far better that it's just me, a telephone and my wits. No promotion schemes, no need for arse licking and no bloody Christmas parties.
The downside is that when it comes to holidays, you don't really get any. I've not stopped teaching at any point in the summer, but the number of my classes has dwindled to almost nothing. Next month all should come back online, and I'm pleased. First I need to earn money again and second I actually like my work. This is a strange feeling for me, given that I spent years resenting every second I spent in my old job, and suffered from the 'Sunday night dread' of going back every week. But now I enjoy what I do, and that rather takes the sting out of 'Back to School' posters, which I see they have in Spain too. Personally I'm ready to go back to work, and I hope many of you feel the same way, because there's nothing worse than hating your job. As for school, that's a necessary evil, and it's over before you know it.
2 comments:
Know what you mean and even thoughI work in a school, I love it. In the USA hardly anyone gets more than 2 weeks holiday a year, and that's after a few years!
So I knew I needed to work in a school! I chose a 10-month contract so I get June & July free, with the option to work a little if I want for extra cash. But best of all, from March thru May we only go to school 4 days a week. I swear I have the perfect 'employed' job in the world!
Isn't it amazing how much our lives have improved my friend.
It is indeed. Looks like we've both found a way of beating, or at least bending the system.
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