First Quarter Grade Report

Has anyone else noticed the plethora of natural disasters to hit in the last year? Tsunami, earthquake (where there shouldn't be any!), hurricanes (where there shouldn't be any!), and snow storms in October? I don't know about anyone else, but I think that Mother Nature, God, the Universe...whatever you believe in, is trying to tell us something. I'm not really sure what, and I think that the message is pretty relative...but I've been thinking about this lately.

The last couple of months have been eye-opening in basically all aspects. Have you ever felt like you've been in exactly the right place at the right time? Like you're supposed to be somewhere? And because you're there, everything falls into place and you didn't even try? That's how I've felt since moving here. Life has certainly taken a turn into an extremely positive direction, and I have found myself being happy, I mean really, really, happy. Happier and more content than I have been in recent memory. You all know that I'm one of the faithful, and for the first time in my life, I have found that my prayers have been more of thanks, instead of asking for something. I have so much to be thankful for, and so much so, that I'm even thankful for the days that keep me humble. I have met some truly wonderful friends, and the kind of friends that I hope will be around for quite awhile! I'm so proud of the friends that I have from home, and I'm thrilled with the friendships that we have. I love being in touch with all of you, and the conversations/texts/and messages that we share so valuable to me, and make my day when they happen! I miss you terribly, but keeping in touch is making me value my friends so much more.

And, who would've thought that meeting up with your friend's brother for a friendly drink would turn into a great cooking duo and awesome napping buddy? And, yeah, the cliche is true. I wasn't expecting it. I'm closer with my family, and close with the family that I want to be close to. And I'm really done with apologizing or trying to justify why some relationships flourish and others flounder. I'm also finding that I'm adopting the "live and let live" mantra in practice, rather than simply in theory. It's SO freeing to come the realization that "it's not my issue" and just let things go. That's something that I have been working on for the last year, and in the last couple of months, I feel like I've gotten it. The job that I'm doing is also making me develop a thicker skin and not take things so personally, so I'm also learning how to really separate the personal from the professional and not let work impact my personal life and the way that I see myself so much. I'm also becoming more confident in myself, and developing the ability to really stand my ground. I have also found that I really miss teaching. I like the interaction with the students, and the camaraderie with the teachers, and I really miss History! I miss researching my lessons, writing lectures, making PowerPoints, creating group processes, and seeing the progress that my students make throughout the year. It was so fulfilling, and I really miss it. I even miss having a grading party with Kirstin at home during Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune. So, the next three-quarters of a year will also be a great way of letting me know what I'd like to do for the rest of my career as well.

I'm interested in being able to look back on this time 10 years or so from now, because I feel like this year is going to be a coming-of-age in the adult-sense, and it already is. I think that we all go through that....new beginnings and feeling the need to make changes that will bring us closer to where we want to be.