For as long as she can remember, Sharon has loved writing. In fact, when Sharon was in fourth grade, her teacher gave her extra writing assignments because of her avid interest and ability. Over the years she has always found time to journal and write poetry.

 After high school, Sharon took on the dual tasks of working full-time and attending MN State University Mankato. She attended for two years, taking general education classes and intending to concentrate in music. However, she was not convinced that this was her genuine interest. Not sure what she wanted to do – and concerned that she might end up with just a liberal arts degree that might not land her a financially secure career – she dropped out of college.

  Sharon wanted a satisfying career and enjoyed the nearly ten years where she worked as a barista at several coffee shops and as an employee at a food co-op. She did some traveling and explored her interests. Eventually she realized she could not support herself and her son in the work she was presently doing.

  About this time, someone recommended she contact Life-Work Planning Center (LWPC) to assist her in her search. Coincidentally, LWPC had scheduled a display at the co-op where Sharon was working and in time Sharon was happily attending the personal growth and career development workshops in Mankato. She knew she was seeking something, but as yet she wasn’t sure what it was.

 In the workshops she was able to define her skills, interests, and work values. In the Myers Briggs Personality workshop, she received the validation she needed to “be who I am.” She says it “gave me the baseline of my personality to work from.”

All in all, Sharon began to move toward the goal she had set for herself when she first enrolled at LWPC: to gain the confidence to return to college and to know what it was she truly wanted to study.

   LWPC supplied financial support to Sharon through displaced homemaker funds by reimbursing her for mileage and childcare expenses. The support of the other women in the group convinced Sharon that it was necessary to take care of herself first and know herself well if she were going to succeed in her career path.

 At some point Sharon recognized that she had not been brave enough to call herself a writer and an artist because she felt vulnerable to criticism of a part of her that was most important to her: her creativity. Having had that insight, Sharon decided to call herself what she truly wanted to be. She was now ready to make a decision. She said, with a bit of humor, that she had decided to “be a creative writing professor when I grow up.” It appears to have been the right choice. Sharon has a 4.0 grade point average and has been invited to join two honor societies. Her long range goal is to obtain a Masters of Fine Arts. This career would allow her to accommodate her top work values, some of which are creativity, freedom, and helping others.

 Having come this far, Sharon offers some advice for other women seeking life and career direction. First, be brave enough to be alone; without distractions it is easier to know yourself, your needs, and your wants. Secondly, seek support from others. For Sharon, part of that support was Life-Work Planning Center, its staff, the workshops , and the other also-seeking women. It paid off.

- Marlene Lange, Peer Counselor

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