Profile on Aunt Jaci
by Megan
http://www.jacirae.com
I can remember when I was little and my Aunt Jaci would tell me stories. Her stories were always fascinating. Like the time she was stung by a jellyfish at the beach and my other Aunt told her to go to the lifeguard shack. Since she is extremely allergic to bees, she went to the lifeguard station and because of her reaction to bees, they called for help. In about fifteen minutes, there were two fire trucks, three police cars and one ambulance in the parking lot of the beach. There was a lot of commotion and Aunt Jaci was very embarrassed.
When my aunt is not telling me a funny story she is being silly, and making me laugh. She is also quite accident-prone. If a rock fell from the sky into a crowd of people it would almost certainly hit her. Because of this she has many stories to tell. In comparison, I almost never have anything dramatic happen to me. That's not to say my life is boring, but my stories are nowhere near as funny as hers.
It seems that no matter what she's doing something happens. Take her plane trips for example. On her plane trips the following incidents seem to me to be more common for her than for most: loosing her luggage, being thrown up on, someone dying on the airplane, her plane being stopped in flight by an F-16, and being delayed by many hours - she has experienced it all. Who ever heard of someone on a flight which was stopped by an F-16? Surprisingly enough though, she loves to travel. I guess it's not all that surprising, that she would much rather be on a bus than on an airplane. Unlike her, I love to fly, but have only actually flown four times that I can remember. And, by the way, nothing unusual happened on my flights at all.
Aunt Jaci is very creative and is self-employed. She writes books and sings for a living. She has toured around the world. She says that touring is a lot of fun, but it is not as glamorous as everyone portrays, or thinks it may be. Her workday starts at 7:00 in the morning with radio interviews, and then continues with television shows. She works nonstop until finally ending at about 2:00 in the morning when she gets on the tour bus.
I often ponder about what I am going to do for a living. Sometimes I worry that I will graduate from high school and still not have an inkling or idea what occupation to pursue. I asked Aunt Jaci what her inspiration for doing music and writing books was. She says, "My music has always been a part of who I am and what I think. It's how I feel - part of my soul." She also said that she has known since she was four that she wanted music to be part of her life.
Writing books came as a result of what she does. Although writing was not planned, she says it turned out great. I can see by my aunt's example that you want to find an occupation that you like; otherwise everyday of work will be misery. Right now I know that one thing I really like is sports. On an everyday basis, I am a quiet, easy-going person, but when I am out on the field or on the court, the fire within me breaks loose and I feel like a different person. I am shouting instructions or encouraging others to keep up the good work. I find myself taking charge. I ask myself though, "What kind of job can I do that involves sports?"
I know that there is something more to it than just liking a certain subject and getting a job in that area. My Aunt Jaci told me that her greatest accomplishment is the relationships she has formed with her family and friends. This is the bigger picture. It is not so much what a person's occupation is, as what they do when they get there.
