First Year Reflections

As I begin this post, I am less than 24 hours away from being completely finished with my first year of teaching.

Let me take a moment to let that sink in. I am no longer a first-year teacher.

I MADE IT THROUGH! That is a great feeling!

I really wish I had blogged about this experience as it happened. Why didn't I? Well... As a first year teacher, my one and only goal was survival. Teaching took up so much physical, mental, and emotional energy that I hardly had anything left for other areas of life. I'm ashamed to admit that throughout the last nine months, my relationships with friends and family have suffered, time was not well managed, instruction was lacking... Mostly because my mindset was primarily just making it through the year. 

My goal for the next year is to be better than the first, now that I've had a year to get my feet under me. Blooming into the professional I can be. I want to be a teacher who sets an example for students and for other teachers. I want to hold on to my enthusiasm, my positive attitude, to lead by going above and beyond. This next year, I don't want to strive for survival; I want to strive for excellence.