A Thousand Hours

It only took three months (click here to read the beginning of the story), but I made it through all of the background checking and started a new job today!

I'll be developing and teaching classes to help inmates at the jail transition back into the community after they've served their time, and part of my job will involve working with various non-profit and governmental organizations that can provide them with opportunities and support.

This may sound like a strange turn for me to take, but at its core this job is what I've been drawn to and doing all my adult life: connecting people with ideas or information or skills or other people or whatever, hoping they will take what I offer and run with it.

And I'm sort of going back to one of my earlier career aspirations. When I started college, I planned to major in forensic psychology. I have absolutely no idea why I was drawn to that field, and after taking a criminal justice class, I realized that I was too naive, too trusting, not street smart enough to head that direction. In a way I've come full circle, but this time around I won't have to make hard judgments about anyone. Instead I'll get to root for them.

According to the county personnel office, I am a "thousand-hour" employee, which means I can work a thousand hours a year. A thousand hours to make a difference.