Challenge the Status Quo

I feel like most of us live in the status quo. We like to stay comfortable. We choose jobs that bring in the pay check, yet don't challenge us. We have a hard time looking past our own interests and asking how our gifts can benefit others. I want to challenge this.

On paper, I'm an elementary school teacher. Teaching little kids comes naturally for me. From teaching writing to putting on science skits, I thrive. Yet, today, I find myself in Africa, teaching psychology to seniors that are far smarter than I am. Creating lesson plans takes me ten times longer than it did for fifth graders. I have a slow internet connection with no text books. Students ask me questions I don't know. "Googling it" has become my new best friend. I find myself struggling with this. I want to go back to what is comfortable, what pays well. Yet, I'm here.

This week at ALA, studies have been put on hold for seminal readings. It's a week where we meet in small groups, read articles about a range of different topics in Africa, and discuss them inside and out. We've been reading about the African Union, the free market, entrepreneurs that have fought for social justice, women's right activists such as Maathai, and heroes like Nelson Mandela. Each person has this in common: they were willing to put down the status quo and risk failure. They realized that immediate comfort and security were irrelevant, they wanted to see change. The status quo fought with them, reminding them that they couldn't do it. Status quo told them their ideas were silly, that they shouldn't risk too much. Thankfully, they didn't listen to the status quo.

I might be an elementary school teacher but little by little, I'm learning not to listen to that voice that tells me I'm not suppose to be here. The voice that says "You're not equipped for this job, you can't teach high schoolers" Instead, I'm choosing to venture into the unknown again and again, risking failure, in hopes to make the most of this experience.

Challenge the status quo in your own life. Maybe you are suppose to leave the comforts of the city you are in right now. Maybe you are suppose to change jobs. Maybe you are suppose to start the program you've always wanted to try, but thoughts of failure have been too overwhelming. Money is important, but do you really have to make that much? Take the chance. Make the change.