Day 27: Yes moments

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The moment I decided to become a teacher
I was a wild child in my youth, making the transition from geek girl to party animal at the age of eighteen and not really growing up much in the years following.  I lost more jobs than I can count, spent whole weekends at raves, got into huge amounts of debt, had all sorts of mental health crises, sent my parents grey with worry... in short, I was about as irresponsible as you can get.  And then, suddenly, I decided that teaching was for me.

I won't lie, a big factor in my becoming a teacher was the fact that the financial incentives were great at the time: tax-free training bursary, a Golden Hello payment, and the government would pay off my student loans if I found a job by the deadline (and with four years of uni and £18,000+ loans, that was not to be sniffed at).  The other thing that convinced me was the TV programme Teachers, which made it seem as if teaching was one big doss and you got to go to the pub every night. 

Not the most auspicious start to a glittering career in teaching, I'll admit.  But, to the utmost surprise of everyone, it turned out I was really rather good at it. 

I aced my PGCE, working my arse off (for the first time in years) on my assignments and doing well in both placements.  I was offered a job at my first placement school and started teaching full-time in August 2005.

And the late nights, the constant partying, the inability to hold down a job?  Turned out, all I'd needed was a bit of time to grow up and the chance to take on some responsibility.  Teaching turned my life around; turned me from a dissolute youth to someone with control over things.  It was the best "yes moment" I ever had.

The moment my mum told me to buy a house
I'd always loved whiling away hours on Right Move, but I never thought that house ownership was within my reach.  And then my mum came to visit and, during dinner, said, "You should buy a house."  Now my mum almost never tells me what to do (even during the aforementioned wild child years, she largely kept her nose out of my business), so when she said this I sat up and took notice.

I'd seen the house that became mine during one of my mid-Location Location Location Right Move browses and, when my mum put the idea into my head it was the first thing I thought of.  So I arranged to look round a couple of days later: my first ever house viewing.  Within minutes of walking in, I knew I'd found my home and after that, things just fell into place.  Both my mum and dad were very generous about lending me enough for a desposit, I found a mortgage offer quickly despite the credit crunch, and two months later I had my keys!  That was five years ago this week and I have never regretted it for a moment.

The moment I got on the bus instead of going home
It's October 29th 2012.  I have a first date with a guy I've 'met' on Ok Cupid.  I feel sick with nerves and utterly reluctant to leave the warmth and comfort of my home to strike out into the unknown.  I hate meeting people and the last few internet dates I've been on have been disasters, so this seems like a terrible idea.  Why don't I just turn around and go home?

But the bus arrived, and I got on it, and I went to the pub, and met the boy I'd been chatting with online, and he turned out to be The Boy.  He'll be moving in with me soon.