Dare To Do Something Courageous

first day, first period: 

Student: "Mrs. Garrett, do you want to see something cool? 

Me: Of cooourse, (name of student)! 

Student: Pulls aside his long black hair, rips out his gages. "I can stick 4 pencils through my ear....starts sticking them in...oh wait I think I can get 5 or 6 now."  

Me: (Laugh my head off...next thought: what am I doing here?) Name of student, how big do you plan on growing those out?

Student: At least an inch or so.

I love my life. I am exhausted and excited. I have had many moments where I cannot stop smiling and others...how did I even get here? (Over dinner the other night, Carson and I looked at the whiteboard calendar that is above our kitchen table. I didn't realize so much change could happen in the span of two weeks. In two weeks, I graduated from college, my family is moving from our sweet home, Carson quit his job, and I am now teaching high school. seriously?) 

This week I have felt growth like never before; I have stretched and pushed myself in ways I never new possible. 
It has been one week since I started teaching high school.

^^My First Day! Carson had me stand in front of the door for the classic "first day" pic.

Let me tell you, it is hard. 

Planning two 80-minute lesson each night---that are engaging, fun, and interactive--is tiring. (It is a great thing I love the content--or I would be done.) I feel like I am in a fire, molding and changing. It is hard to step outside of comfort zones. But the moments when I have a student come up and say, "Mrs. Garrett, it has only been two days and I am already loving this class;" or see a student learning a new concept, making a new friend in your classroom, or lighting up because you know their name and care about their life--> well that makes the late nights and EARLY mornings worth it. It makes all of those moments when you feel like a complete failure, the moments when you want to crawl under the desk and hide, okay. I have already come to see that behind those glares (the ones that look like they could eat you alive), are kids wanting to know you care. People wanting to feel important and loved.  

Lessons Learned:

*I could not do this without God's help. For me, this job is just as much spiritual as is temporal work. I pray for my students. I pray to know how to best help them. 

*I am young, I know it. I go to the copy center/faculty rooms=immediate double takes from staff. Unless I am wearing a faculty shirt, I practically disappear in the masses of students between class periods. My age makes it for a different experience. It is so easy to be one of their friends so I have to put forth a greater effort to show that I mean business. But at the same time, I can relate to them. I know what it was like to be a teenager in high school these days--and what the good teachers and bad teachers were like.  I go to great lengths to make learning FUN because that's the way it should be. I know when kids have their phones out or are scheming of different ways to free load or slack off. And I call them out on it. 

*Showing you care gets respect (and better classroom management) quicker than any other discipline principle. 

*Life is hard and people are resilient. The students I have are going through things I never did in high school--drug problems, miscarriages, hard family situations--> including TONS of divorced parents, etc. Many do not want anything to do with college, some are new and have no friends, many work full time so they can support themselves and come to school utterly exhausted. Many use their outer expression to communicate: I see mohawks, random piercings everywhere, different fashion senses. I have kids from Africa, Norway, Germany...One of which doesn't speak, read, write English (yeah, I know--we are working on that!) I love my students--lip rings and all-and they probably don't even know it. 

*Find a Balance. Everything I have done the last two weeks have been centered around teaching. I wake up in the wee hours of the morning to prep and commute to Lehi, spend all day working my tail off, and then spend more hours into the night prepping lessons and planning activities for the next day. Carson is such a sport as I quiz him with various ideas I came up with:"Do you think the kids will like this? What about this?" Oftentimes, Carson ends up carrying me to bed when I fall asleep on the couch. [Creating a first year foundation is exhausting.] WE NEED BALANCE IN OUR LIVES. It is when I push the work aside and do something fun with Carson or for myself, every once in awhile, that I feel rejuvenated. I feel more effective when I came back to work. I feel more myself. I feel happier. 

Carson is my greatest priority.  I can either let this new, time consuming job separate us or draw us closer. So I decided I would set boundaries. I turned down the coaching position they offered me--knowing it would make it nearly impossible for us to see each other. This weekend, I spent two hours on teaching (while Carson helped the neighbors move in) and then I spent the rest of the weekend with him. No teaching prep. Just us. It was glorious. I have come to love this man more than I could ever imagine.

*Teaching is powerful (and rewarding). 

*I have great support. I married a champ! Between setting up the classroom, buying materials with me, giving me a blessing, bringing me a bouquet of flowers and snacks, preparing delicious dinners, doing laundry, writing me notes, making me laugh when I want to cry, cleaning the home, being a listening ear and a great source of support, Carson is a champ! My family has been nothing but excited for me and they call me every day to hear about the latest. They have always been my biggest fans! An (unknown) friend/(s) decorated our front door. It was so comforting to open the door on the first day of teaching (at 6:00am) to see this...(if this is you...please know it meant the world to me...it is still up! It makes me confident and happy every time I leave it in the morning!) 

My parents bought me this painting as a graduation present for my classroom. (It is of Washington Crossing the Delaware.) It is absolutely breathtaking. I cried when they gave it to me. It is one of my favorite things I own--symbolizes so much.

^^rough pic. cute door.

Life is full of surprises.

I hope we all do something that scares us. Something that challenges us and pushes us. I hope we don't stop facing changes with courage--even when all odds are against us.

Well, until next time! Cheers, Brave Ones!

***

"If we don't change, we don't grow. If we don't grow, we aren't really living."