A Small Part of Big Family

Can you believe it? It really happened! We did it! We made it to the LAST week. Hey guys, did you catch that... THE VERY LAST WEEK OF THE SEMESTER! We're here! Looking back at when I started this blog, I hardly even believed that the week of December 12th even existed... but here we are! And a very happy Monday to all of you :) We're actually done... we actually did it. We are still alive here today to talk about our victories!
I couldn't be more proud of all of you. And let me just say how honored I am to have been a part of all of your journeys. Finally let me thank you for being a part of mine. I honestly could not have done it without you. 

If we could, please take a moment to look back at all that we've achieved this semester... (and queue the montage)
...This entire blog started because we had our first #futureteachermeltdown And let me say that those moments haven't entirely ceased! But it's alright, I guess it keeps things interesting.
...We panicked about taking the Praxis test. Yet on class on Tuesday we passed around high fives to everyone who took it this round. We all passed!
...Columbus may have attempted to circumnavigate the globe but I know for many of us, seeing our thought process with unit planning and actual classroom application, we began to see our ideas come full circle.
...We spent an entire semester on an amazing, yet incredibly rocky, journey. Here we are at this small destination point. We have many more destinations to reach! Remember to weigh them both equally: the importance of the journey and our goals.
...We faced some scary moments of ah-ha epiphanies. One of those moments I can best remember is Dakota's realization that she's not being called to be a teacher. She took one heck of a plunge in her decision to withdrawal her student teaching application. And she's so incredibly happy! As are we! The best part, she's still a part of our family. :)
...We learned that it's okay to fail and English majors can cry! (As Eric's piece of advice, we shouldn't, but sometimes we just need to get it out of our systems.)
...We came to the realization that we're the lucky ones, not the kids. We don't go to work every day, we get to go to work every day. It's an honor to be in the front of society's youth.
...In the words of Mrs. Green (for those of you who know who I'm speaking of): You'll never be bored unless you're in a coma! Teaching is one of the most exciting careers we could have. The moment it gets bored, we need to make changes. You need to get the kids out of a coma and into hello. 
...There even came a point this semester when I didn't have any advice to share with you all. I realized then that I'm not always going to have the answers. (Or even be able to pretend like I have an answer.) Thanks to Liz, I learned that sometimes all we have to do is ask for the help.
...And finally we came to find how much we genuinely love the students we get to spend our days with. They aren't just a group of kids in desks there to listen to you every day, instead, they become your kids.
That's when I realized how much of a family we truly are. I'm a part of a beautiful group of people who have done nothing but shed love on each other all semester long. We celebrated successes and consoled each other over failures. None of us ever did this alone.

As this semester comes to an end, let me just again thank you for everything each of you have done. I so indebted to you for all that I've learned. Thank you, thank you, thank you. And finally, let me part with an old Irish blessing some of you may know...

May the road rise to meet you, may the wind always be at your back, may the sun shine warm upon your face, may the rains fall softly upon your fields, and until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of his hand. 

My Kids

It's almost the end of the year and with the holidays arriving, I can't help but feel a bit of nostalgia. Around this time, every year, I get this feeling in the pit of my stomach and a question ringing through my head: What did I do this year? 
Looking back on it, 2011 was a pretty plain year. I mean, last year I travelled to Alaska and had an amazing journey there. This year, I've suffered through classes and for what? Yes, last year I went on a grand adventure, but this year I did too. I think I've grown so much in this year than any year before. Each year seems to be better than the last, but this one is special for some reason. I cannot pinpoint any specific moments, but there are a few I remember distinctly. Like this summer when I sat on the porch one night talking to my dad and telling him how scared I was for the future. Or another moment when I realized last semester that maybe I didn't want to be or couldn't be a teacher any more. Or the moment at the start of this semester when I couldn't ignore the calling God had for me any longer.
Yet within the past month alone, I've had a few of these ah-ha moments. Like the one I shared with you about my experience at the football game and realizing this would still be me in twenty more years. Or briefly after that, the moment where I came to peace with that feeling and the fact that I'm getting older and it will be okay. I think one of the biggest moments occurred this past Thursday when I finally finished my field placement and I couldn't help but feel like as I walked out of those school doors, I was leaving a piece of me behind. And when I found myself sharing these wonderful and amazing stories I have from my experience, I can't help but notice that I've started calling my students "my kids."
My kids. I had 48 of them this semester. Next I'll probably have double that if not more. Yet each of them are uniquely special. And as I hear about all of your experiences, I can't help but notice that you call them the same. Who would have thought that'd we mothers and fathers at age 21-22? It seems like all of that stuff that McDowell talked about in Issues with us about in loco parentis suddenly now makes sense. We get to spend a full 7-8 hours with these students during some of the most important times in their lives. I've said it before but I have to say it again; do you know lucky we are to have an opportunity to shape the future of our society? Only special people are called to do this job and we've all been blessed enough to experience this together.

Earlier in my blog, I shared with you a conversation that I had with Jen about being a parent and giving away the responsibility of caring for your child to a teacher. I wrote about how scared I was and how I didn't know I'd be able to handle that responsibility. I'm still scared and I'm still worried I'll fail, but I know I can do it now.
I've spent the past four weeks loving and caring on complete strangers. It took me awhile just to remember all their names, but now it's hard to imagine how this week will be without them. It's strange for me to think how fast I got attached to them, but it's so easy when you spend those precious 7-8 hours a day discovering and learning new things. They aren't just students that come and go, they're a new part of a collection of my kids that will pass with every new year. I won't stop thinking about them or remembering the wonderful new knowledge and experiences they offered me. It's true that you never really realize how a person, or group of people, can impact your life until they're gone.