Sigh of relief

Well, it's over. My first year of teaching has officially passed. It's funny--I get mistaken for a student every once in a while, but today I got mistaken for a high school student twice at places off campus. I know that someday on the last day of school when I have a lot more years of teaching behind me I will think back to the day I finished my first year and the waitress at Chili's asked me if I was graduating from high school that day.

It seems a little anti-climactic to me--how quickly everyone, students and teachers alike, goes their separate ways. I have been counting down to this day for so long--one of my senior yearbook editors teased me all year that she was supposed to be the one counting down, not me. Now that it's over, it's a little weird. I'm not sad though--I know I'll see most of my old students around campus next year, and it will be good to see 150 new faces in the fall. The best thing about teaching, I have decided, is that there is always a new beginning, and there is always an end. I get to reflect back on what worked this year and what didn't, both with my teaching and my classroom management, and start over fresh in the fall. Until then, I get to enjoy eight weeks off seeing family and friends, going to Blue Haven and relaxing. I've decided it doesn't get much better than that.