Detours On The Path Of Life
Knowledge can come from the most unexpected sources, and these stories of people who took detours before finding their true calling are perfect examples. The post features an interview with a retired professor, as well as an overview of some of the most interesting stories that we found.
Many people never know what they are capable of until they meet with a difficult situation; it takes courage to take a detour when you have no idea where it will lead you. Meet five inspiring individuals who turned taking a left turn into the life-altering decision that led them to their dream career.
1. Retired Math Professor Finds Calling as a Citizen Journalist
It might seem strange, but when you're preparing to teach middle school math, you don't plan on becoming a citizen journalist. However, this is exactly what happened to retired professor Marc Perrusquia. The successful academic found that he wanted something new in his life after hearing about the JFK assassination during a trip to Dallas, Texas. He dug deeper into the story and started writing articles for his local newspaper on the subject. Since then he has gone on to report many stories in the area and won numerous awards for his investigative journalism work.
2. Young Lawyer Finds His Calling as a Comedian
For many young people, the dream of becoming a lawyer is just that–a dream. However, for Mike Lawrence it wasn't just the beginning of an incredible career–it was an unexpected turn down an exciting path. Instead of studying to become a lawyer, Mike took classes at night to learn comedy and became a professional comedian. He was able to parlay this into an unexpected career, which has allowed him to make a name for himself in the entertainment industry and even publish his own book.
3. Teacher Discovers Passion for Science Experiments
To many people, teaching is not a passion, but for Darlene Woodford it was far from an idle dream. She had wanted to be a teacher since she was a child, and when she retired to pursue that dream, she pursued it with great determination. Woodford has been teaching science at her local high school for over 19 years now and has helped turn the curriculum around to make it more reliable. She has become so passionate about science that she even wrote the first draft of a textbook—"Teaching Science in Action"—which is currently being revised by other authors.
4. Head Cheerleader Discovers Her True Passion in Life
The path to becoming head cheerleader is a difficult one, especially at the College of William & Mary. In order to be selected as captain of the cheerleading squad, you have to get the votes of all 27 women on the team. Even then, there are still not many people who would think that being a professional cheerleader is a viable career choice. However, this is exactly what happened when Denise Rucker was voted captain and discovered that she had found her calling in life. She left college and became a pro cheerleader for 12 years where she was able to make an incredible name for herself in the industry.
5. High School Student Discovers His Passion for Film
For a high school student, sitting in on classes at a local college is usually a great way to pass the time. However, this wasn't the case for Barrett Garese who watched the world of film come alive before his eyes. He was so taken by everything he saw that he ended up switching schools and pursuing a degree in film and television. He dropped out of high school to do so and now has quite a successful career as an editor for one of the largest independent producers in Hollywood.
6. English Major Discovers His Calling as a Lawyer
For many people, law school is the last thing they want to think about after graduation. However, for David Taglianetti this wasn't the case. He graduated with a degree in English literature and found that it was actually quite useful when he went to law school because of the way it's taught; most classes revolve around cases and legal analysis, which are perfect for English majors. Now he has a successful career as an entertainment lawyer in L.A., and even represented one of his idols in court–Dr. Dre–in his recent lawsuit against Beats By Dre.
7. Dreamy Teenager Discovers the Importance of Reality
For most teenagers, being a computer science major is not the way to go. This is especially true when you're drawn to art and music, which was the case for Alex Day. He became a classical cellist and often wrote songs as a teenager that would eventually be released on YouTube. It all came crashing down when he started making fun of other musicians in his "hit" song "Rejecting Me." He was quickly called out by some of them, including Paramore's Hayley Williams, and it caused him to re-evaluate his life and he ended up dropping out of college because he didn't want to hurt his friends and family financially anymore.
8. Painter Discovers His Passion for Illustrating Children's Books
Picture books are a great way to teach kids about the world, but it's not always easy to come up with the illustrations for such books. For illustrator Laura Cornell, this is exactly what she did: she taught herself how to paint and now creates the book illustrations for many beloved children's books. She got her start by illustrating books that she wrote and now manages a little company called Bright Sky Press. All of her clients say that her work will help their children learn so much more as they read through her picture-book series like "The Owls Know I'm Real."
9. Student Discovers the Power of Attitude
Communication and etiquette skills can be difficult to pick up as a young person, but for Amy Chua it was easy. Her parents were both born in the US, so she grew up around Chinese culture. She was always skilled at speaking two languages while growing up and loved learning different languages in school where she ended up becoming fluent in Chinese and Spanish. When she decided to study law at Harvard, she decided that she wanted to be a better version of herself rather than just trying to fit in with her classmates. She went out on her own and created the internationally renowned "Amy Chua's World.
10. High School Student Discovers the World of Travel
For many people, their first time abroad is when they get to decide which college to attend, but for Bates-educated Kelly Hoey this wasn't the case. As a high school student, she had already traveled to England and Ireland and ended up doing an independent study on the Irish poet W.B. Yeats. This sparked her interest in languages and eventually led her to earn her bachelor's degree in Spanish with a minor in French while attending Wellesley College. She has since published several books on teaching children foreign languages and even has an e-learning program that is top rated by consumers.
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Conclusion:
So, there you have it. There are many more incredible stories of young people who became successful in different fields at a young age. These people aren't just able to take advantage of their unique talents, but are also able to understand their inner strengths and believe in them wholeheartedly.