HOW I GOT HERE

I graduated high school in 1999. I took the summer off, and in the fall, I enrolled in a community college, even though I was accepted to a four-year university. I wanted to save money and transfer out. When the time came for my transfer, I was an English major, and I really didn’t know if I wanted to fully pursue the career of the inevitable English teaching career. I mean, don’t get me wrong. I LOVE English (and by the way, just as passionately, I HATE math! Hehehe)! But I just felt very hesitant about going “full out” into the English career path. So, in the summer of 2003, I prayed… A LOT!!! I sought GOD, I sought people, I even sought personality quizzes to try and figure out what it is I am truly passionate about. Why do something unless you’re passionate about it, right? Especially when it comes to your career! I was looking to not “work,” as Confucius said it: “If you enjoy what you do, you will never work another day in your life.” As I was seeking, seeking, seeking, little things just started to come together, and I KNOW it was GOD pointing me to the court reporting career. Here are some “coincidences” that sealed the deal for me:

• My family and I had dinner with some distant relatives we hadn’t seen in a while. My aunt asked me what I was doing in regards to school and career. I told her that I was an English major, but I didn’t know if I wanted to become an English teacher. I was at a crossroads. My mom, as any parent would do, pointed my strengths and not my apparent weakness at that time of not knowing what I wanted to do as a career. My mom proudly said, “She’s a very fast typist.” My aunt, who worked in the court system, suggested I look into court reporting. She was excited in telling me that court reporters were highly skilled, very distinguished professionals, they make lots of money, and they are always in need because the court system couldn’t function without them.

• I found out that my personality type was ENTP -- Extraverted Intuition Thinking Perceiving. http://www.personalitypage.com/ENTP_car.html The suggested career list had attorney on there. I knew I didn’t want to be an attorney, but it intrigued me to no end that the law field was brought up for my personality type. This got me thinking more and more about what my aunt had said about court reporters.

• I researched about the court reporting career. I found great info on http://www.bestfuture.com/ All the pros of being a court reporter totally outweighed the cons. To be honest, I didn’t even see the cons. Everything that court reporters do -- their direct help in the justice system, their daily intimate work with words, their ever changing subject matters, the gratification of knowing you are recording history as you know it, the flexible schedules offered, the versatility of working as an official reporter, deposition reporter, CART reporter, closed captioner, and the in-demand occupation as it is -- all just helped cement the deal more so for me.

• Reading through several online articles about court reporting, I was brought back to a childhood memory that I had long forgotten. I remember visiting our local courthouse for a fieldtrip. Our tour guide set up a mock trial for us. He asked for volunteers to be the judge, jury, plaintiff attorney, defense attorney, witness, bailiff, clerk, and lo and behold! The court reporter! Guess which one I was chosen to be?! Yup! The court reporter! I totally forgot about this seemingly small incident and remembered it instantly as I was going through my thorough court reporting research. I couldn’t help but smile at the “coincidence.” ;)

• Another childhood dream of mine was to become a reporter. I remember playing “The News” with my little brother. I would be the anchorwoman, and he would be the person I’d interview. I have loved books, words, asking questions, and “reporting” since I was a little girl. It was truly icing on the cake that I could be a “reporter” if I chose to become a “court reporter.” How perfect is that, right?!

• The final confirmation that wholeheartedly sold me to pursue court reporting happened on a night when my friends and I attended a debate at Biola University. It was held at their gymnasium, and we got there pretty late. We were seated high in the bleachers and were about ¼ of the way into it. Looking around, I noticed that there was a court reporter on the floor taking down the whole debate with her steno machine! I couldn’t believe my eyes! At intermission, I made a beeline toward her. I introduced myself and told her that I was looking into the court reporting field. I told her that I was specifically looking into Bryan College. She could not stop praising the profession enough! She was so encouraging and told me to “Hurry with school! There’s so many jobs waiting for you!” She told me that she absolutely loved being a reporter, and surprise, surprise. She too went to Bryan College! Another huge “coincidence” was that her name was Christine, just like me! I knew this was no chance meeting at all. I really believe GOD was saying, “Yes, you are to pursue court reporting.” I was so happy, I had to take a picture with her!

That is how I got here today, pursuing court reporting. Like I said, I really believe GOD has placed this career in my heart, and I want to do so much good with it. SOME ARE:

• Provide realtime translation for the hard-of-hearing at my church.
• Provide CART work to hard-of-hearing students at their functions.
• Provide closed captioning to hard-of-hearing viewers all across the nation.
• Provide an accurate transcript for a case and do my part in helping justice be met.

I’m really glad GOD pointed me faithfully to this career. Now, it’s my turn to be faithful to this calling and pursue being a CSR with excellence.