What is A Second Chance?

 

Clear intention informed my decision to call my work 2nd Chance Designs. The name fits because I work exclusively with castoff, experienced or second-hand pieces of furniture giving them vibrant new life with color and design. It also fits on a personal level.

Right out of college I launched into a patchy professional life and a sweet marriage. We lived in Sudan for our first year (the year from hell), and then Kenya (yay!) where I taught elementary school for a few years. Returning to the States, I stayed home with our two darlings and worked a few hours a week in an office. I tried selling toys. I co-wrote an English course for migrant workers. Generally I fretted that I wasn't doing/earning enough. As the kids grew, I taught school again while my husband completed his graduate work. I was miserable. We moved and I tried something different -- non-profit work as a job consultant. Earning regular bonuses didn't translate to happiness. I visited the guidance counselor at the local university. Carefully she explained results from two tests. One measured personal preferences and strengths, the other aptitude; for both tests my scores fell almost exclusively in the art/artist quadrant. I cried bitterly. I mean, what can you do with that?!?

I left non-profit work for my best "regular" job: part-time paraprofessional children's librarian. But even then something was missing. Hoping that more education would give me tools for a successful do-over, I earned a master's degree. Now qualified to teach college classes, I spent hours reading and grading multiple drafts of tedious, heart-breaking essays.

Embracing art came gradually, painfully. Frankly, I was afraid. My family produced teachers, doctors, administrators. Art was no way for smart, sensible people to make a living. Unless you are Picasso -- who was not sensible. I resisted the pull until shortly after hurdling my 40th birthday. Then I painted my first chair. 

At some level I realized that if I kept doing what I was doing -- "traditional" jobs I did well -- I'd keep getting what I got -- drained, frustrated, bored, downright depressed. 
 
After frequent tries to "get it right" in the traditional job market, I took a U-turn. Instead of aligning myself for a do-over on the well-worn path of conventional professional success, I headed in a completely different direction. Rather than repeating attempts to succeed in the land of blue collar/white collar work, I set my sights on new territory -- success as an artist. To me this territory is expansive, a place where I explore limitless creative possibilities and find endless forms of expression. Taking chances. Finding joy. 

Venturing into my identity as an artist means giving myself a second chance at life. 

How do you define second chance? Please share your definition in comments. Thank you! Pin It