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The look on my family's face after that question could only mean that I hadn't chosen the best profession after studying for five years at the University of Moa. I was starting to worry that I had made a terrible mistake. Those were the years when everyone wanted to be a doctor, from missions to Venezuela and Brazil. On the other hand, Moa, 279 km from Holguín, didn't seem like the best place to live. I always knew, somewhere deep in my heart, that I was destined to stand in front of a classroom. It wasn't an accident or a plan B. It was a calling that grew stronger over the years, despite everything they said outside those walls filled with chalk and hope. A Straight Line with Curves First, I wanted to be a Comprehensive General Secondary School Teacher: I imagined changing lives at my most rebellious age. Then, I dreamed of the Polytechnic, among machines and projects, training technicians with creative hands. But it was when I entered the University of Moa that I understood my place in the world: here, among books, laboratories, and eager eyes, my vocation took root.
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Yes, I admit it: I had offers with better salaries. Companies that offered amenities, better salaries, stability. Moa is home to the largest geological mining industry in the country... the nickel industry. But something in me resisted. It wasn't stubbornness: it was the certainty that a private office would never give me what a classroom gives me: The spark in a student's eyes when they finally understand a difficult concept. The freedom to research what I'm passionate about and share it with those who will build the future. Traveling to conferences, not as a tourist, but as a bridge between knowledge from distant worlds. The Dividends That Don't Appear on a Pay Stub They say to me: "Professor? What a sacrifice!" And yes, it is. But what they don't see is the invisible wealth I reap every day: Knowing that my work sows something greater than myself. Investigating what moves me, not what suits the market. Watching my students soar and knowing that they carry a part of me in their tools. In a world that measures success in numbers, being a university professor is an act of resistance. It's believing that knowledge makes us more human. It's preferring "thank you very much, professor" to the thirteenth month at the end of the year. It's trading comfort for the possibility of setting minds ablaze, even though sometimes the system doesn't value that fire. I didn't choose this life despite being underpaid and poorly served. I chose it because even so, it makes me feel more alive, more useful, and more myself than any other profession. Because in the end, what's a high salary compared to the privilege of being remembered? What's an executive position compared to the honor of someone telling you years later: "You changed my course"? For Those Who Doubt “Unproductive” Vocations To young people browsing job postings: don't underestimate the calling. If you feel that teaching is your oxygen, don't fear the difficult path. The world needs fewer stressed-out executives and more prophets of knowledge with chalk on their fingers and fire in their voices. “Teaching is an act of faith in the future. And I, although tired, still believe.” What led you to choose your profession, even against the current? Share your story!
