Bragging rights

Today's prompt asks what are my biggest accomplishments, and even says, "go ahead, brag on yourself." Well, okay then! So head over to Big Time Literacy to see what everyone posted.  Today is day 25 of the challenge. I was a little late to the party, but I've been pretty faithful since I started.

Well, I am most proud of earning my teaching degree and becoming a teacher. I have been a Mom and my oldest just turned 30 and she turned out pretty awesome. But I don't really get to claim that, that is on her. I am most invested in being a Mom. And sometimes I succeed and sometimes I don't. Which I suppose is the same for teaching. What I notice about being a teacher though is that it is easier to take a step back, ask for a little guidance, and adjust when I need to. Being a Mom, not so much. I tend to whine and cry because things may not be working the way I'd like them to, but I get up and board the same roller coaster again the next day. I mean, I don't make the changes. I am too close to it. And then I am on the same ride and end up in the same place. There is also the little factor of.... children. I have heard that you can be a great parent and have rotten kids. And as I have recently seen.... you can be a lousy, rotten parent, and have a great kid (not my story, someone we know.... great kid). Anyway.... back to my story.

I have worked with children for a lot of years. And this summer, because I had a classified position last year, I am working in a daycare for the summer. But in 2009, I was working in this same daycare. and three or four of my children were leaving for the summer because their Moms were teachers. I had an epiphany. I thought to myself, "If I can work with three years olds all day, and potty train these kids, and nurture them, I can teach....(because I want to be home for summer)." And so I went back to school. The first year, I worked approximately 30 hours a week and maintained a high GPA and raised my girls. The next year, I worked in a school setting and for much of the year I worked for 36-40 hours. But as second semester geared up, I realized I couldn't give as much dedication as I wanted to to both school and work. So I cut back to 25 hours and focused on school. And that last year, we lived on student loans and barely scraped by as I finished my internships and did my student teaching. But my own children survived it, and I graduated with a 3.93 GPA.  I am extremely proud of this. I am just a poor girl from the other side of the tracks and I did it.

Securing a teaching position hasn't proven to be the easy journey that I had hoped for either. That first summer after graduation I took a job waitressing. Teachers don't make a lot of money, but clawing my way through school and fighting for the opportunity to make $30,000+ a year and then making $2.13/hour was humbling to say the least. One day I had an email in my inbox from some principal in the OK panhandle seeking FHSU grads for interviews. So we discussed it and off we went for the interview. It was 116 the day we were there. I am not kidding. It was scorching hot. But we bravely took on that position and left everything we were familiar with for my first year as a teacher and I taught Kindergarten and I am very proud, both of the fact that I worked with great people and learned a lot, but mostly of my Kindergarten students who came through with flying colors and made significant gains and were ready for First grade the following Spring.

I am proud of my hard work as a college student, and I am proud of what it did for me as a person. I know I am a teacher and I the shift in my life is significant.  I am proud, humble and grateful all at the same time. I know teaching is the life for me. I love it.