Jewelry & Beading

Bead Relief

by christina on May 16th, 2007

Bead therapy is not a new idea. Most beaders will tell you that the act of beading is a wonderful way to relax, that time and problems can slip away as you make jewelry. And I have to agree with this.

However, I’d like to take it a step further and suggest that it is also a way to feel good about yourself, especially if you have any sort of career related to bead and jewelry arts, and especially if you still have the “day job.” Granted, we’d all like to do our beading full-time, but even to dabble in it as a career or do it part-time, I believe, is a great way to explore our creative side while we feel confident in our abilities.

I thought about this yesterday after receiving a nasty email from one of my on-line English students. I’m teaching a summer class now, and while 20 of my students are well into the swing of things after the first week, there’s always a few stragglers. After an email reminding them that we only have 6 weeks so it’s time to get with the program or drop, one student who is a week behind decided to tell me that it was my fault she was behind and that if she didn’t get the grade she felt she deserved she would complain about me to the school.

Yes, very unnerving. I tried to remind myself of all the past and current students who appreciate my help, but I couldn’t help but also think about why I teach English in the first place? Is this really the direction I want to continue in? Will I even get a chance to so so?

All these doubts started in my head…I’m sure you know…been there and done all of that sort of thing…But then I felt later in the day, that hey, even if it all goes down the you-know-what…I’m not just and English teacher. I have way more going on than that. I’m a writer. I’m a jewelry designer. I could stop teaching how to write a thesis sentence tomorrow, and I still have plenty of career opportunities. Jewelry and beading are always there for me, and it is another place for me to belong, a place that I feel good in and rarely threatened.

So, yes, the day job sort of thing sucks, but then again consider the fact that some people aren’t as lucky as we career-beaders who have something going on the side that they love to do and feel confident about doing.

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POSTED IN: General Jewelry Musings, Jewelry Design Careers