Okay, everyone, I have a question for you. Have you ever experienced something that felt so surreal, you actually had to pinch yourself? If so, I definitely want to hear about it! As for me, I had such a bizarre morning last Friday that I weirdly felt, for a moment, I was living someone else’s life. And I am eager to tell you all about it!

Allow me to start at the beginning. From 2006-2023, I was a lead teacher at a small private school that provided me with a great honor and privilege: I was given the opportunity to help develop the upper elementary and middle school programs, from the ground up. One aspect that I brought to the community was the biennial Middle School Career Week, a student favorite. Throughout the week, different members of the community would visit the classroom to share aspects of their work, leaving the students enlightened and inspired!

Two years ago, I planned Career Week. 

If people were to have told me then that I would be attending the very next Career Week, not as the facilitator but as a presenter, I would have stared at them in disbelief. And if they doubled down and said that I’d be presenting as an author, I probably would have guffawed!

But, alas, it is true. I attended the very next Career Week as a debut author, sharing my journey of fulfilling my lifelong dream with the 27 current students of the very classroom I spent the majority of my adult life in. So bizarre!

I began the presentation by sharing the myriad jobs I’ve had in my life, pointing out that every experience we have along the way provides us with lessons and skills that we can take with us and apply later on. I cracked a joke about which career choice they wanted to hear about, but of course they all knew exactly why I was there!

We then chatted about how intimidating the age-old question of “What do you want to be when you grow up?” can be. Some of the middle schoolers admitted that they don’t like being asked, while others shared that they already knew their answers. Let me tell you, what an honor to be among future mechatronic engineers, plastic surgeons, and (you guessed it!) authors!

This led to me sharing all about the various careers I thought about when I was younger. We shared some giggles, along with alternatives to Baja Fresh, before moving on to the big career. The dream career. The reason I was there.

Remember my second blog from so long ago? (If not, you can catch it here: https://ericasherlock.com/2024/07/29/chase-space-and-grace/) I took this opportunity to share about the seed that was planted in my heart when I was just a child, and how as much as I loved being a teacher for all of those years, my dream of being an author was ever present.

After sharing a couple of laughs, we turned to an incredibly important aspect of any Career Week presentation: The life lesson of having a growth mindset. Failures are stepping stones to success, and we shouldn’t quit on our dreams or on ourselves! One student shared that when encountering hiccups and failures, we should “Use it as fuel.” So simple, yet so profound!

Rejection after rejection, what made this time different? What brought Through Quick and Quinn into the hands of readers, while the other books remain unread on my desktop? I loved hearing the guesses from the students just as much as I loved sharing what I believe the reason to be. (Curious? Reach out and let’s have a conversation!)

If you read my very first blog (https://ericasherlock.com/2024/07/12/a-common-question/), then you know all about the timeline of my spiritual journey. The students seemed to enjoy the story! We then wrapped up the presentation with some interactive conversation about the different types of literature, authors, and publishers, and how the industry is changing before our very eyes. Several students seemed interested in the prospect of writing, and even more gave me the ‘thumbs up’ to write a second novel…

Before taking questions – of which there were plenty, and brilliant ones at that! – I read Quick’s first chapter and the majority of Quinn’s first chapter, leaving the students on quite the cliffhanger. Do you know the one of which I speak?

It was an absolute honor to autograph copies before heading out. Chatting with each of the students filled my bucket; there’s nothing better than personal conversation and human connection!

An enormous THANK YOU to Ms. Sam, Ms. Caitie, Ms. Ashley, and the students of E1 for inviting me to Career Week and helping me to end February in the best way possible!