It's the end of my first year teaching and my year in Bangkok, and oh, what a year it's been! It was almost nothing like I thought it would be, but despite all the trials, I think I am actually a better teacher because I grew a lot through my experiences, learning things about myself, my students, and about what does or doesn't work for me as a teacher. In 9 days, I will be flying back to the States...so far, only a bunch of applications floating out there hoping to attract an employer in the way of a job. And I'm getting married. Seriously, in the last 3 years I've had more changes in my life than the rest of my life combined. I returned from Cambodia. I job-hunted. I went into teaching. I met my husband-to-be. And I went to teach in Thailand. Now, in the next 3 months, I'm moving to Colorado, trying to find a job, and getting married. Everything's changing again.
I loved teaching my seniors this year. I loved being a part of their senior year and being on the other side, rooting for them. I loved reliving the appreciation they had for each other at the end of the year, combined with that weird excitement for not knowing exactly what comes next. And I loved realizing in the midst of this that I too am at a major turning point, but like them, one that I'm ready for.
Most of you know that I fell into teaching backwards. I had absolutely no desire to ever stand in front of a crowd of teenagers and feel their attention all on me for even just one class period, let alone an entire day. And even when I felt like teaching was something God wanted me to pursue, I couldn't deny to myself how much that scared me and couldn't figure out why none of my former teachers laughed in my face when I told them I was thinking of becoming a teacher. But at the end of this year, I feel even more certain that teaching is exactly what I'm supposed to do. Why? Because of my students.
I have some fantastic memories from this year: charades, the blind faith experiment, the "sheep thing", and of course, the unbelievable response to TSS. I got the opportunity to see students think for themselves, use their voices, and find their passions about stuff they were learning that's also relevant...and the things they told me at the end of it all showed me that it had meant something. An impact had been made. And that, above all else, is why I still want to teach; it's one of those few occupations that has the daily opportunity to change lives and make a difference. When a student tells you directly, especially in writing, that you did that for them, that's something you never forget.
Like Jonathan said at graduation, endings are also the beginnings of something else. I will miss teaching these students a lot, but there are a lot of good things starting for me. A thousand splendid memories are still in the making.
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