When you are younger it is hard to think about what you want to be doing in your life after you graduate high school. Some people go to a four year university while others may just go straight into the workforce. Joshua Crouse, a Government and English teacher at San Marcos high, explained to us students that it is okay to not be certain of what you want to do when you are older. Joshua Crouse describes his last day in court as an “incredibly frustrating day that highlighted my problems with the profession and frustration with my then-career.” But his first day teaching didn’t go as he had planned. He stumbled over his words repeatedly and was so nervous that he can hardly remember any details about the day. All he recalls is remembering getting home and wondering if he had made a mistake. 

“It came down to just wanting to be happy in life. I was very successful as a lawyer, but I was coming home miserable day after day. I wanted to make a change and follow my passion instead of the money. I did it and it has made all of the difference,” said Crouse. 

Even though this decision was huge for him, he wanted to find happiness in his life. In order to find his happiness he had to stop being a lawyer and find something else. He needed to find a  job that wouldn’t make him come home feeling miserable and impact his family’s life. 

“I had a ton of mixed emotions. On one hand, I was thinking that I was on my way to making truly life-changing money as a lawyer. I also knew that not everyone was happy with their job. On the other hand, I knew that for me to be able to truly enjoy my family and my life outside of work, I had to be happy with what I was doing at work as well,” said Crouse as he explains what was going on in his head while making this decision. 

He thought that it was normal that most people didn’t like their jobs. After finally realizing that hating your job doesn’t have to be that way and that you can end up loving your job.  

Even though this decision was huge for him, he wanted to find happiness in his life. In order to find his happiness he had to stop being a lawyer and find something else. He needed to find a job that wouldn’t make him come home feeling miserable and it’s affecting his family’s life.

“It was a huge concern. I took a very large pay cut to become a teacher. I am lucky that my wife also makes very good money, so I had the luxury to pursue my passion that not a lot of other people have. In the end, happiness was more important than money,” said Crouse.

At the end of the day what you do in your future you want to be happy and live the best life.  “I can honestly say that I have no regrets. I do get a pang of jealousy when I see some of my lawyer friends taking extravagant vacations, but it passes very quickly when I think about how happy I am on a daily basis and hear them complain about how much they hate work,” said Crouse.