Reflections on Two Weeks

I'm sitting here in my classroom...exhausted...and thought I would write while I'm in the "zone".

The past two weeks have been an emotional rollercoaster.  I've cried, laughed, yelled, questioned my sanity, and have felt tested in new ways.  I knew going into this new job that there would be aspects that would be hard.  I knew I would miss Rockingham.  I knew I would miss my kids at Rockingham.  I don't think I realized how much I would miss both of them.  It's hard being "the new kid".  You have no "cred" and you have to reestablish yourself in lots of ways.  Not that I'm not up for the challenge, but whew, it's been a lot harder than I expected.

There's always a but...

But, I have learned SO much.  One of the main reasons I decided to leave and start fresh was that I felt I had grown as much as I could at Rockingham.  I'm so thankful for those years, and I wouldn't take them back for the world, but I had reached a point where I knew it was time to challenge myself again.

Today, finally, after about 10 days, I really felt like I connected with my students.  They are loud and they are needy and they are frustrating, but man, I think I love them.  Letting myself get over Rockingham and open myself up to new experiences has been the most rewarding thing about this.  I've met so many wonderful new people.  I'm teaching with two of my best friends.  I'm learning so much about teaching, lesson planning, and myself.

Growing and learning...every.single.day...

**Note: Just found this in my draft list and decided to go ahead and post it...it's a little bit encouraging after writing my latest post.**