While the Write your Own Future Program is for middle school students, it has application for anyone in employment transition, or anyone who is seeking to restore joy in a life which has become unfufilling.  An essay on applying Write Your Own Future principles in adult life may be found at http://andrewbarbin.blogspot.com/2009/04/write-your-own-future.html a portion is digested here:

Part of the reason for trying to help middle school students identify their abilities and interests is the number of people whose lives are unfufilling because they did not seek such a path in their youth.  Lives without focus are a risk for all manner of tragedy.  Even those who avoid drugs, violence or other risky behaviors deny themselves the joy which is inherent in a purpose driven life. It never ceases to amaze me how hard some people are willing to fight for a job they have hated for years and which threatens to suck the last shred of joy from their lives. More often than not they occupy their private hell by accident rather than design in the first place. The higher paying the prison, the harder it is to break out; but a gilded prison is still a prison.

Unhappiness, like pain, appears at first blush to be a burden. It is not, it is a gift to be cherished and respected. Another name for pain is protective function. At times, wiring can be crossed and it can decieve; but in its pure state, it is a blessing which enables us to remove our hand from the stove and seek change before the cancer consumes us.

Happiness is to the soul, what pain is to the body. It is the protective function that tells us that our lives are out of sync with our calling. Absense of a regular sense of purpose and joy in one's vocation is a clear sign that one has not found one's calling within the vocation. The same is true of life outside of work.

Calling is not a matter of fate, but of choice. The absence of joy is the byproduct of a failure to seek calling in one's vocation intentionally. Many of us stumble into our vocations by accident. Facing graduation, we blindly send out resumes and applications en masse. We accept a position because it is the one offered and accept this as fate. It is folly. After 25 years as an employment attorney I can say that being fired is often the best thing that ever happens to a person. It is almost the only thing that can cause a person who has been living a life of quiet desperation to realize that they have held the keys to their prison all along. While the legal advice to each employment client varies dependant on unique facts, there is some advice common to all. It is grounded in my faith and evolved from experiance which has taught me a broader understanding of calling - which includes but transcends vocation.

I believe that calling is found at the intersection of God given interests, abilities, and opportunities. The worst way to find a job is to open a paper, without first opening your heart. We are not our jobs; our jobs are to be an extension and expression of ourselves, and not the other way around. Our vocation should reflect our calling, but is not the same thing as calling. Calling is plural rather than singular, it is fluid rather than static, and is within rather without.

Following time for post termination decompression, each client is asked to take a day and to write down all the things for which they have a natural aptitude or ability. Because modesty can limit appreciation of these gifts, they are encouraged to seek input from their spouse or family. The list of abilities is to include the things that one is good at whether or not they are things that we enjoy. Though I find no particular joy in math, it came naturally to me and so would be included on my list.

On a separate day, they are to make a list of all the things that give them joy, whether or not they are good at them. While input from others can be helpful, this is usually an easier list to compile as false humility poses no barrier. For me, singing would be a good example. Anyone in the neighborhood who has endured me belting out tunes over the mitigating roar of my lawnmower will affirm that any joy I derive is not from any peculiar aptitude.

The next step is to take the two lists and seek opportunities, employment and otherswise which would call on at least two items in each list.  With regard to the vocational search, I advise them to seek out people in such target areas of employment and ask them about the job rather than for a job. once they have identified four or five appropriate target  jobs they are told to let everyone they know that they are looking for such an opportunity.  In my experiance there are a surprising few degrees of separation between any individuyal and a job which is expressive of their calling.  It may be necessary to accept unfufilling work to meet immediate obligations, but there is hope and joy in the knowledge that a calling is being sought and it is also my experiance that those who seek opportunities to fufill calling outside of their work eventually find it within their work.

My sincere belief, and experiance, is that calling is found only when actively and prayerfully sought. It is found by intentional people who look for it at the intersection of interests, abilities, and opportunities. Most importantly, it is in no way limited to one's vocation. Great joy comes from seeking calling in one's vocation, but it presents itself in innumerable variation within and without vocation:

"Anyone can rescue his human life, in spite of his professional life, who seizes every opportunity by means of personal action, however unpretending, for the good of others who need the help. Such a people enlist in the service of the spiritual and good. No fate can ever prevent a person from giving to others this direct human service side by side with their life's work." Albert Schweitzer, Out of My Life and Thought, 93 (1933).

If you would like to help create a similar program for another Middle School, please contact me at

In the Beginning:

June 7, 2006 Press Release Regarding Intial Place Winners and Finalists:

Middle School Students Write Their Own Futures

Mechanicsburg Middle School (MMS) announced the Finalists and place winners in its inaugural “Write Your Own Future” Competition at their Eighth Grade Awards assemblies Tuesday.

This year as part of a well established and comprehensive Career Day program at MMS, students were asked to take the existing reflections component of Career Day a step further and write an essay as a graded English assignment, which then became an entry in the essay competition. The idea was to use the curriculum to reinforce the focus of Career Day on personal planning for the future, while adding a prize competition component to provide an incentive to the students.

MMS Principle Leonard Ference explained that the contest was the idea of a parent who arranged for corporate sponsors and coordinated the program with Guidance Counselor Paul Meck, who was in charge of the existing Career Day Program. Mechanicsburg English Teacher Ms. Janet Kulikowski welcomed the program and explained that her students put a lot of effort into the assignment, and were very anxious to learn who had won.

The Winners were announced by Kelley Leone, representing co-sponsor Pinnacle Health Systems. Prizes were distributed by Amy Kramer, Branch Manager of the Mechanicsburg Branch of Members 1st Federal Credit Union, Dave Lesko, Admissions Counselor, Messiah College, Andrew W. Barbin of AWBPC, and Eugene Anastasio, Vice President Investments, Janney Montgomery Scott representing the other co-sponsors.

Mr. Paul Meck, Diane Barbin, M.Ed., and Reverend Merle Brubaker of Messiah College served as judges for the competition. Entries were judged, not as essays, but as to which students had shown the best effort to make a real plan for their future.

Before announcing the winners, Mrs. Leone explained, “The judges have asked me to tell you, the participants and your parents, just how amazing and inspiring the essays were. The essays showed a seriousness, sensitivity, and commitment to the future that we too seldom hear about, or celebrate. Many wanted to be teachers, and identified teachers past and present who had inspired them to that career. Many identified parents, siblings and relatives as the inspiration for their career choices. On behalf of the co-sponsors for this event, we are please to be able to help celebrate and reward your efforts. In our minds, you are all winners.”

Jenna Barger, in her first year at Mechanicsburg, was the First Place winner, with an essay which explained why as a child of divorce and as a friend of children who had similar concerns and issues, she wanted to become a child psychologist. The second place winner, Erica Manzer wrote about how she planned to become a pediatric nurse and how she was inspired by the care provided by nurses to her brother in a neonatal intensive care unit. Third place finisher, Scott Inderbitzen, lamented that because of separation of church and state his career choice –missionary- was not in the Career Day Activities but explained why and how he was going to pursue that career path. Earl Barry who tied for third explained that he wanted to do auto customizing, and that he had already purchased a used car to restore and customize. Grace Koppenheffer who also tied for third place wrote about her desire to become an author.

The following students were recognized as Finalists in the competition for essays they wrote about the listed career plans: Ariel Arnold, Soccer Coach; Tabitha Beaver, Attorney; Andrea Beck, Budget Analyst; Lauren Cleaver, Construction Worker; Amie Cross, Volcanologist; Sharona Dorsey, Author; Alyssa Drake, Teacher; Joshua Fickes, Magna Artist; Ethan Guswiler, Anthropologist; Alissa Hamar, Cook; Nicole Keiser, Teacher; Jessica Koontz, Journalist; Jared Miller, Meteorolgist; Colleen Trostle, Teacher, Tara Wagner, Teacher; Allison Warner, Nurse; Ashley Wright, Artist; and Andrew Zetter, Musician.

All 290 participants received a Certificate, a "Go Wildcats -Write Your Own Future Pen" a coupon for an ice cream cone at Rakestraws in Mechanicsburg, and congratulatory letters and information from the cosponsors relating to their efforts to make their dreams come true. Finalists and Place Winners received a special certificate, a Messiah College tee shirt, and a certificate that entitles them to a $20 deposit made on their behalf by the co-sponsors into a Members 1st Savings account upon opening a savings account accompanied by their parent or guardian. The thought behind this prize was to emphasize the role of savings in making their dreams come true, whatever those dreams may be. The Third place finishers also received a check for $25; the Second Place finisher received a check for $50; and, the First Place finisher received a check for $100.

Paul Meck indicated that the Write Your Own Future Program was a welcome addition to the Career Day Program which he has coordinated for many years. Pat Miller, who has been guidance counselor for this class of students since the sixth grade, commented on how proud she was of all the students, and how confident she was that they would not only write their own futures, but would go on to live them as well. Mr. Meck and Mrs. Miller are retiring this year with 35 years and 34 year respectively with the School District. Mrs. Miller indicated that she planned to travel, and already had a trip to China planned. Mr. Meck on the other hand, will be taking his summer house painting business full time. MMS Principal Mr. Ference thanked the sponsors and confirmed that the program would be continued annually as part of the Career Day Program.

If you would like to participate as a sponsor for the MMS program, or would like to create a similar program for another Middle School, please contact me at andrewbarbin@aol.com and I will be happy to discuss this program with you.