3 years of teaching and counting...

It's amazing that I have already been in the profession of teaching for three years.  It seems like just yesterday that I was making the scary career move and learning on the job.  Let me bring you back through my journey to become a teacher...

I have known that I wanted to work with kids since I was in college.  I started working at a summer camp through the JCC in St. Paul, MN (shout out to Camp Butwin) and loved every second of it.  I started out as a Horse Specialist, where I was teaching kids how to care for and ride horses.  This sounds really fun, but it was a TON of work!  It was super enjoyable though and eventually I moved on to being a counselor.  This role was more up my alley because I was able to get to know a group of kids REALLY well because I was with them all day long and on some overnight trips.  

Working at the camp lead to a part-time job while I was still in college during the rest of the year in the JCC Teen Center.  This was not too challenging, but it gave me a chance to hang out with kids and talk to them about life.  We would play pool, have snacks, watch TV, or just talk about what was going on with them.  One of the things I gained during this experience was a true mentor, April  McHugh (now Riordan).  I looked up to April and basically wanted to be her and have her job.  Since she wasn't moving on in the time frame I needed, I was forced to look for something that was like her job.  

That all came around the time that I decided to move to Colorado.  I was moving in the summertime, so I looked for, what else, a JCC that had a summer camp.  I found a perfect one and worked there as a Counselor in Training Director.  This was awesome!  I got to work with and mold high school students to one day work at the camp.  They were an amazing bunch of young adults and I couldn't believe that this was my job.  Sadly, it had to end when August rolled around and I had to look for something more permanent.  

I promise I taught them something, but we also had lots of fun! (That's me in the middle with pig tails)

This lead me to the City of Aurora with the Office of Youth Development.  It was my first job after college that resembled a grown-up position!  I really enjoyed it...at first.  After a few years, I got the hang of it and it started to be way too easy.  It was hard for me to find challenge in what I was doing, even if I tried to create it for myself.  I stopped enjoying going to work and was driving Andy crazy by overcompensating in our social life.  I planned things for us every night and realized I was doing that because I wasn't getting what I needed from work.  

It was time for a change and it took me awhile (over a year) to figure out what that change should be.  I had ideas including things like a wedding planner and travel agent....these weren't so stable of options.  I thought I finally had it figured out and decided I would go back to school for my Master's and become a school counselor.  


Andy had a few things to say about this and we battled it out for a few rounds, but in the end he was right.  If I was looking for something stable, counseling was probably not the right path.  Instead, I went into Special Education.  Now when I think back, this was the best decision I have ever made (besides moving to Denver and marrying Andy of course).  It immediately changed my outlook on my career and my worth in this world.  


As I begin my fourth year of teaching, I am reminded of the journey it took me to get here.  It hasn't always been easy, but there are things that make it worth any hardship their may be.  


First, my sense of self is the strongest it has ever been.  I now have a purpose every day when I go to work and that makes me feel like a million bucks.  This is true even when I have the worst day and everything goes wrong.  


Second, I have amazing co-workers.  I can't even imagine if I worked somewhere where I didn't have this.  They are there for me when I need to vent and when I need to celebrate an accomplishment.  I am surrounded every day by smart, caring, and passionate individuals that make me feel welcome in the work place.  


Lastly (but actually should be first), I LOVE the students I get to work with each day.  They are sweet and challenging (maybe in the same day).  They all have interesting stories to share.  For some reason, they seem to learn something from me and in the end, we end up forming a relationship that benefits both of us.


Teaching is definitely not a little thing, it is a HUGE thing that makes up the person that I am.  And, I am so thankful to have found the school where I work.  Every end of the year they celebrate teachers' milestones and new journeys.  For teachers finishing their third year, they give us a beautiful glass apple that is personalized to us.  This is the little thing that symbolizes my journey and helps me look forward to another year of teaching.  When I look at it, it is a small reminder of where I have been, where I am now, and where I want to go in the future.