I am a graduate of Northern Kentucky University with a
Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education. I started my undergraduate degree at
the University of Kentucky as a kinesiology major with hopes of pursuing
Physical Therapy. I also started my undergraduate degree having never dated
anyone. Fast-forward four years and I am married, a graduate of NKU, and an
elementary teacher. What a difference four years can make…
It’s hard to believe that it has already been a month since
walking across the stage at NKU and accepting my (fake) diploma. That was such
a sweet day as it was the culmination of so many hours spent studying, reading,
planning, learning, and working. I was so thankful to have my sweet family
there to celebrate and so appreciate the boredom they suffered through on my
behalf. Ha!
The Night Before Graduation, Gabi, Abbey, and I
Decided to Decorate Our Caps because, Why Not?
I Couldn't Have Done this Without These Two
After the LONG ceremony, we had a little family celebration at Mom and Dad's house, which was SO sweet. We celebrated Mother's Day, Birthday's, and my graduation all rolled into one and I loved that. Anytime my family is all together is a happy time for me!
It This Not THE Best Gift?
This semester was unlike any other because I was working
full time as a student teacher. Phew, talk about a change of pace…I went from
being single and taking classes twice a week to being a newlywed working 8+
hours a day. It was EXHAUSTING. I laugh now thinking back to how completely
overwhelmed, exhausted, and SORE I was after the first week. My head, my legs,
and my feet ached so badly after the first week that my sweet husband bought me
a foot massager. Ha! He knows the way to my heart ;)
Throughout the semester I spent 9 (because of the ridiculous
amount of snow we had this winter) in fourth grade and 7 weeks in second grade.
To put it gently, the first half of the semester was TOUGH. It was emotionally
draining, physically demanding, and just flat out difficult. There were many
nights that I came home and cried and cried, wondering if I had pursued the
wrong degree, wondering if I was cut out to be a teacher. I felt very real
spiritual warfare and had to rely on the Lord’s strength to get me through each
day. And you know what? He did! God gave me the mental, emotional, spiritual,
and physical strength I needed to get through that trying season AND put people in my path to speak truth and encouragement into my life at just the right time. I would be lying if I didn't say I did a little happy dance on my last day, BUT I would also be lying if I didn't say that by the end of
those 9 weeks, I had developed a deep appreciation for my students and looked
forward to passing and hugging them in the halls...
THEN I went to second grade and it was like a breath of
fresh air. That first week in second grade I cried tears of JOY because I was
reminded of why I wanted to teach. I LOVED my time in second grade and grew so
much as a teacher during that time. The Lord blessed me with an amazing mentor
and friend during that time who affirmed me, valued me, and gave me the freedom
to teach and learn in her classroom in a way I never had experienced before. I
cannot even begin to express my gratitude for Mrs. Anderson or fully describe
how much of an impact she had on my life and my career. She reawakened my love
for teaching and for that I am so thankful. I loved collaborating with her in
such a natural way and laughing about the cute and silly things the kids would
do.
Speaking of silly...one of the most hilarious (and disgusting) things that happened all
semester was an incident I’ll refer to as, “The Sneaky Pooper.” After math one
day, Mrs. Anderson and I kept catching whiffs of what we assumed was really bad
gas. This wasn’t too uncommon with over 20 kids in one classroom, but the smell
kept getting worse and worse even after the kids had gone to specials. After
narrowing down where the smell was coming from, Mrs. Anderson discovered a pile
of “used” (if you know what I mean) tissues in the trashcan! Oh my goodness, we
both gagged and laughed so hard at the fact that we had both somehow missed
someone going to the bathroom IN class, wiping IN class, and throwing dirty
tissues in the trash can IN class. Oh my goodness, we died laughing…and then
quickly took the trash out. Oh the adventures of an elementary teacher…
In a matter of only a few days, I fell in love with my second grade kiddos and looked forward to coming in each day and seeing their sweet faces. I
loved their little hugs and curious questions. I loved listening to them read
and laughed at their silly stories. I LOVED second grade. I also loved the
hilarious things they said like…
·
“I was born big, but grew up small.”
·
“My shoes are sort of fast and sort of slow.”
·
“You smell like my mom.”
·
When talking about Dairy products in the food
groups… “Well, mom’s make milk, but in the wrong spot.”
My last day with them was SUPER emotional and was not a day
I was looking forward to at all. I am completely sincere when I say I LOVED
these kids and loved my time with them and did not want to see it end. As the last day crept closer and closer, I panicked, afraid that I hadn’t adequately expressed how much I cared about each of my
students and how special and amazing I thought they were. I knew in my heart that I had,
but I still wanted to do something special for them to remind them, just in case. Ha! I
started working on their goodies two weeks before the end of the semester and
it may or may not have spiraled a little out of control. By the last day of
school, I had made every kid a Super Hero Tootsie Pop with their initials on
the cape, a bookmark with a little note from me, and a Super Hero Certificate
with a personalized letter telling every child what I loved about them (these were
my favorite!). As the end of the day drew closer and closer, I hoped I would be
able to present their gifts without crying. I did…but just barely. The kids weren’t so lucky though. Ha!
After passing out all of the gifts, we had precious little puddles of tears
scattered throughout the room. It was pitiful and precious all at the same
time. It was a super sweet day that made me fall even more in love with those
kiddos.
My Sweet Love and Constant Encourager
We Celebrated with $0.75 Ice Cream Cones
I was OVERWHELMED with the Generosity and Love
after my Last Day of Student Teaching
Now, a month later I lay on my couch reminiscing about that
sweet time, wondering what God has in store for my future. This month I have
cried a lot of tears with the uncertainty of my future. I am a planner and I
like to know what’s coming, so this has been a really HARD season of trusting
that God will lead me where I am supposed to be. I have only applied in Boone
County, which I was feeling convicted and confident about at the beginning of the summer, but
after seeing other counties hiring and friends getting jobs, I struggle with doubt,
anxiety, and fear that I have “shot myself in the foot.” I have not had any
interviews or any signs of an interview and that is discouraging on most days
for me. Although in my mind I know that it’s not time to panic yet, the
achiever in me feels like a loser for not already having something lined up. INSERT
me really trying to be better at
trusting God and His plans for my life. I realized I am really not very good at
this. It’s easy to “trust” God when you know (or think you know) what’s coming,
but it’s certainly not so easy when you have NO clue what’s ahead and TRUST is
all you can do. So that is where I am today. I am fervently praying, actively preparing to have a classroom in the fall by buying books, reading articles, Pinteresting like crazy (you know, all the important things. Ha!), struggling
with doubt and fear of the unknown, and really working on TRUSTING that God
will use me for His glory in the months to come, wherever doing whatever.
