The Packing Light Challenge: Day 6

So, I'm taking the Packing Light Challenge and attempting to follow my dream of living and working in Europe.  Today's challenge is a bit more difficult than just identifying what I want or making the list of what I need to do to get there.  The Day 6 Challenge is:  What ideals do you have that are holding you back?  By the way, if you're interested, you can read Allison's entire series, or today's prompt here.  Okay, so I'm not the white picket fence dreamer but I think I do have a dream job in mind or perhaps the dream of how life in Europe will be when I get there and I worry that I'll go to a job fair and there is just no way I'll be able to find a job that lives up to this ideal.  I've traveled to Europe a number of times now, and I love watching the travel channel, so I've built this fantasy where I imagine myself living in Paris, biking through the city with a baguette and a bouquet of flowers in the basket of my bicycle while wearing my chic vintage clothes.  I've just come from the market of course, because that's what I do on weekends (yes, my new teaching job is so stress-free!).  Back to the job part--I've spent 8 years teaching 9th and 10th grade kids and I've become quite good at what I do.  I know I don't want to venture into the realm of IBHL chemistry (my brain is already scrambled just thinking about it!), and I need a creative and collaborative environment to thrive in.  No problem, right?  Hmmm...well friends, it's a tough market out there and when you go to a job fair, you look the competition in the eye!  For me, finding the right job is like finding the right pair of shoes, I need just the right fit and that can be tough sometimes!
  

In reality, my chance of getting a job in Paris is like 1% and so I've got to start looking at the reality of the situation and preparing myself for what may come next year if I decide to give up my job in Seoul and become a free agent.  Where else will I consider living and working?  I'm starting to look at other options in Asia and I've also started crossing places off the list.  I also have to closely examine the life I have and celebrate the wonderful things about it because staying put could be the best option when all is said and done and maybe this dream of living in Europe comes as a 1 year sabbatical.  As an introvert, I have a built-in community right here in the place that I live.  I don't have to work very hard to get the things I need, my housing is provided (and free!), and the truth of the matter is all of that will change if I land in Europe.  I will inevitably be on my own to find a place to live in a large, impersonal city, with a limited income.  My social circle will need to be rebuilt from the ground up and I wonder if I'll find myself living in a dream city but feeling very alone.  Ideals--are they helpful as we strive to reach new heights and set new goals for ourselves, or do they set us up for disappointment?  I'm not certain, but at the moment I am still on the path of working toward Europe...perhaps I just need to take a step back and stop obsessing about the things that are out of my control especially since this possible life change is more than a year in the future.  And now it's time to turn off my planning brain and shift back to the present where things are real and tangible, especially that pile of papers to grade and the lesson that needs to be planned for my students who will be arriving in my classroom in less than twelve hours.  Perhaps the real is currently the ideal, but for how long?  Time will tell.