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This is what I wrote based on the prompt I put up on "This Time It's Personal" this week. The prompt this week is "Favorite Places," so I wrote about one of my favorite places to be: in front of a classroom full of people.

My mind racing. Scanning the room. Looking for a friendly pair of eyes, a nod of understanding, a glimmer of interest. My heart pounding. I want to scream, "Like I'm an expert!! Give me a break!," but I can't. Because that would be unprofessional and completely counterproductive. It's always a challenge to present information in a classroom when you know it's not going to be well received. Maintaining a positive attitude, presenting the information with clarity while my mind is clamoring in the background, trying to think of witty responses to all of the snarky comments I know are coming. This is what's going on in my mind. Meanwhile, my mouth is putting a positive spin on all the things I know they're going to hate about today's training.

This is my job.

10,000 Pyramid. Or however many thousands. Listening to colleagues trying to explain words like behentrimonium methosulfate to each other--a word which I can only pronounce because my coworker kept repeating it over and over while she did a little cheery song-and-dance number. Giving them credit because they finally came up with "you know, the behe...something something sulfate one that's in the shampoo." Close enough, right? I should definitely be the host of a real T.V. game show.

This is also my job.

Laughing my head off as different groups of my trainees come up with clever jingles, posters, and skits to showcase our latest and greatest product (whatever it may be). Wishing that I could spend time chatting with many of them in a setting where we didn't all have to be so PC. Some of them are freaking hilarious. I hang their posters, give them accolades for their skits, and think about passing their jingles and one-liners to the marketing department.

This is my job.

Staying until 9. Coming in at 5. Taking a three hour lunch because I had an early class and a late class. Reading dozens of emails a day. Never feeling like I "finished" anything, because by the time I had finished writing a training, some of the content was obsolete and it needed revamping. Feeling like I was on a constant information overload. Feeling like I had to know everything about everything. Loving every second of it.

This is my job.

Well, it was my job. For four years. Now it's not, and I don't think I could ever go back, because I would feel like I was doing it just because it's familiar. And that would be like taking a step backward instead of forcing myself to branch out, grow, and take risks. But it's a job that I will always look back on with pride, gratitude, and satisfaction because I did love it, and I did it well.