I am an adult. Well kind of.
I just finished my sixth day of being in charge of my own classroom! Last Monday I started in there on my own and it felt great. I am a teacher. No really: students call me Miss Clark and I have to correct papers, take attendance, and prepare lessons.
More than anything this job has given me a sense of purpose. I absolutely love getting up every (week)day and knowing I have to be at the school by 7:45am otherwise 60-75 different students won’t have class. (Okay ,yes, there are substitutes but humor me here).
Every day I get to do something. I’m not waking up every morning wondering why I never got a call to go sit in a classroom and watch students do busy work. I get to teach something, write on the board, and answer student’s questions.
I love making plans, preparing for my days, and getting excited about our class discussions. I am very interested in what these high school students have to say because I have been out of there for almost ten years now and I really think life in your teens has changed a lot since then. They teach me how to be a better teacher and a more understanding human being, honestly.
I have always been a much more productive person when I’m busy. In high school I played three sports, was in the band, and wrote for the newspaper. In college I played Division One basketball and maintained a 3.8 GPA throughout. I find when I have too much time I always think, “Well, I can do that later,” and guess what? I rarely do.
Now that I get up at 6:30 and get home between 3 and 4pm I know I only have so much time to get things done, so it’s now or never. I think it helps to live in the middle of nowhere (sorry Dover, but you understand). But I absolutely love it.
Oddly enough, because there is nothing to do I have been able to do so much, things that I wouldn’t do if I was meeting friends or going to the movies every night. I’ve been biking, walking, running, having dinner and conversations with my family, playing the piano, and reading a lot more.
Wanna know the best thing about having a 40 hour a week job? Sleep. I haven’t slept so hard in my life. By the time my head hits the pillow its lights out. That makes me feel like I actually accomplished something for the day; if my gas tank is on empty, it must mean I went somewhere.
