I never thought that I would ever be the type of person whose life was defined by his job. And for the first decade of my working life, I was proud to avoid that fate. Sure, it left me impoverished and more than a little directionless, but at least I wasn't that guy at parties tossing around buzzwords like "synergy", "commoditize", or "success".
In the summer of 2007, I moved up to Boston with an immigration law job similar to the one that I held in Houston. I wasn't excited about it, but I thought it would be a comfortable 9 to 5 that I could sleepwalk through as I found my way in a new city. The day before I was supposed to start, I received a call from an organization called Sports4Kids. It was one of the 25 jobs that I had applied for months earlier, and I had forgotten about it as quickly as I hit the "Submit" button on the online application. I had a vague memory of liking what I read about the organization, so I brazenly scheduled an interview for Wednesday, my third day at the law firm.
On Wednesday, I excused myself from work for a long lunch and grabbed a cab across town to the Sports4Kids office without a clue as to what to expect. I walked in wearing my best suit and was greeted by my interviewer...a woman in her early 30s wearing a t-shirt and jeans with tattoos up her arm. And she was looking at me as if I was the one who wasn't dressed appropriately for the situation! Needless to say, this would be a little different. The interview went pretty well, but the Q & A portion threw up all kinds of red flags.
Me: Where will I work?
Her: No guarantees. Somewhere at one of the Boston-area schools within a 30 mile radius. Don't worry...we'll let you know at least two days before you start.
Me: What is the salary?
Her: You will be taking a 60% pay cut.
Me: Do you offer any benefits?
Her: We might have a health plan in place by the time you start. And you get a $25 gift certificate to Applebees!
I should have laughed the interview off, but I left intrigued. I could tell my interviewer really believed in the program she was selling and her enthusiasm was infectious. Over the next few days, I became more and more excited about the prospect of leaving office life behind. When the job was offered to me a week later, I surprised myself with how quickly I accepted it.
In the 18 months since I started with Sports4Kids, the organization has taken over my life. My job requires me to wear numerous different hats every day. Depending on when someone interacts with me, they could view me as a gym teacher, a recess monitor, an after-school program director, a mentor, a tutor, or a youth sports coach. I once jokingly described my job as a life coach for ten-year-olds...except I wasn't really kidding. Anyone who works with children knows that it is something that spills over into other aspects of your life. If I'm not at my school, I'm often planning for work from home, worrying about something that happened that day, or complaining about work over drinks with my co-workers. I'm not sure that this is something that I'll be doing for the next 10 years (or even the next 10 months), but I know that it is a job that I'll never forget.
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