August has been a month of change.
We had a new housemate move in on August 1 (after an exhausting search), and I’ve been slowly adjusting to the new dynamic. While it’s nice to no longer be the house newbie (not that anybody in my house is paying attention), adjusting to change is always a slow process for me. I had just gotten used to our dynamic after my May 1st move in when one of my housemates announced he was moving for grad school. Ah, but we must go with the flow of things. We snagged a fellow Midwesterner to fill the room, and it’s been good thus far.
Professionally, I started a full-time job last week. It’s been a bit jarring, since I haven’t worked full time in over a year, but I’m excited…and I’m also grateful for the steady income that will soon be coming in. Subbing, while fruitful, was not always a financially dependable endeavor! I’ve joined the staff at a school I subbed at frequently last year. It’s been great, because I already feel comfortable at the school, I know a lot of the staff, and I know a lot of the students. Staff PD was last week, which meant a lot of sitting and listening to presenters and PAPERWORK. I’ll be the teacher’s assistant in fourth grade English Language Arts. So far, I really like my fourth grade team, and I think the lead ELA teacher and I will work well together. I’m so excited to learn and grow as an educator. I wanted to spend at least one year in a classroom (as opposed to moving around to multiple different classrooms as a sub) before heading to grad school, so I’m right where I want to be. School starts today, and I’ve been mentally preparing myself for the swarm of excited fourth graders that I’ll have to maneuver come 8:00 am.
August has been change, but it’s been good. I’m so grateful to be where I am right now. Life feels good. The last couple years have been incredibly challenging, and while I believe all those challenges were needed for my personal growth, I finally feel like I’m in a really good place. A place where I want to be, as opposed to a place where I’m continually striving for something better.
This summer has been an incredible time for me to appreciate the fruits of my growth. I did VIPKID while school was out, which left me with a lot of free time. I was able to travel a bit to see friends and family. In June, I flew to Minnesota for a college friend’s wedding and in July, I went to St. Louis to spend Independence Day with extended family. I was able to host a dear friend from high school in July, while she was in DC for a few days. I also spent a day with her in Baltimore in early August, which has become a new favorite city to explore. I spent a lot of time relaxing at home, trying out coffee shops and restaurants in my new neighborhood, appreciating the many different angles of my home city. I still love DC living, and I am working to embrace the day-to-day as much as possible.
Life feels good right now. I feel happy where I am. I have a direction, and that feels so nice. Not every day is a good day, and there are still challenges and anxiety, but overall, this change is all for the best. The future is only getting brighter.
It's a Britta Bottle! 
I was getting a bit weepy (with joy) as I read through your post. I think of the many challenges you’ve faced head-on since I first started following you in 2015 and how successfully you pushed through them to get to the confident, contented, ‘I’ve got this covered’ state where you find yourself today . I am tickled to hear the news of your full-time teaching position, the good roommate situation, your ever-growing resilience, and the travel filled summer! All good. I am enjoying traveling this road called ‘life’ with you.
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Ah, thank you for the kind words, Lisa. It’s been a trying couple years for sure, but I’ve learned SO MUCH along the way. So grateful to be where I am now, though. Cheers to many more years of traveling together!
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Today’s fourth graders are tomorrow’s world leaders. Who better to shape them than you? I would have loved to have you as a teacher 👩🏫
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I know this post is about a lot more than Baltimore, but what a fun little city that is. I’ve spent a good deal of time there, both at your age and again recently when my daughter was in grad school there. It’s nice that you can visit easily from DC, too. Good luck with our new job!
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So sorry for the delayed reply! I’ve been super MIA from WordPress lately. Anyhow, glad to hear you have a similiar affection for Baltimore…it is so fantastic, and I’m so glad it’s close by. It makes for a perfect day or weekend trip. Thanks for stopping by!
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I missed this post (I didn’t blog much in August). I see that you’ve taken a further step into the education field. Are you going to be trying for a full time teacher’s position as opposed to an assistant next school year?
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No worries, I haven’t been blogging at all lately, so I’m not one to point fingers about missing posts. ::)
No, I’m not going for a lead teacher position next year. I’m not licensed and while some independent and charter schools hire without licensure (certainly not DCPS!), I don’t feel comfortable doing that.
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