Extraordinary Perseverance

Today we had our first new teacher quit. Two days and he was done.

It is, of course, sad - both for him and for his students; but for me it's also humbling. I can easily remember myself this time last year, a mess who was constantly second-guessing and only above bailing by the grace of God. It causes me to realize that my first year of teaching was accomplished through measures of extraordinary perseverance. Not everyone makes it through this job. My job. 

But    I made it through, guys.   

I made it through   !!!!!

Maybe this is something that should have hit me closer to last May, but I think after a summer of debriefing my mind is coming back to me and I am finally beginning to feel some of that joyful,  "I DID IT!" feeling. Accomplishment. Satisfaction. Booyah. All of the above. 

I can't tell you how many times I felt like a failure last year; but, I think Ralph put it well when he said, "Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising up every time we fail." I worked my butt off, I had the life sucked out of me almost entirely, and yet I'm somehow on the other side of it now. ?

It's the best kind of surreal.

So far, I have been able to re-enter the same environment with a level of ease that was entirely foreign to me 12 months ago. It's kind of amazing me.

(I didn't even go up to the school AT ALL this past weekend. The first weekend of school. Do you know how incredible that is??)

On one hand, I'm afraid to hold my breath… it's only been three days, after all. 

On the other hand, I'm all for embracing the sunny side of life. That's three days off to a better year of teaching!

So, after many dark hours of fantasizing about trading my career in education for any mindless data entry job I could hunt down; I would like to encourage those of you out there who may be feeling just as disillusioned about teaching as I was: 

Based on my experience, (though quite limited, it is relatively rich) your life as a teacher will actually get better. It's not just something people say to make you feel better in the moment. You are a professional. You are skilled and equipped to improve the future generations of our society. (no pressure). But seriously, you can do this. Even better, you can do it well even without trading your soul and spending your Friday nights cutting out lamination. I promise.

Sincerely,

One who's been there

When the world says, "Give up,"

Hope whispers, "Try it one more time."

- Anonymous