Why I Stayed On in this university

2022 is my 19th year in this university. 

Prior to this I had been in legal practice for a mere 4 years (should have stayed till 7!).

Why have I stayed in the university for so long?

- I found that I love teaching, and I happen to be quite an okay teacher/ educator

- I have wonderful colleagues

- The university is very close to home, 6km away to be exact

- There is autonomy in teaching and determining my career path (although I wished I could have had a good mentor to help me plan my academic career properly)

- lately, from 2020 to be exact, I found an opportunity for a new area of personal development = RESEARCH! (this should have been my bread and butter in the beginning, but I was ignorant)

So: is this a story of a person who left legal practice too soon & stayed in education for too long.. OR is this a story of a person who loves teaching and has developed strong skills in academia (research skills coming up!!!)

I believe it is the latter. I do happen to love teaching. The work hours are flexible. I do work too much sometimes, and my children see me working ALL the time. I hope I have given good examples to them (overworking is not one of it) and I hope they grow up to be well-adjusted individuals (even if their mum is not quite 'adjusted').