Reflections

Things I have learned in my first year (of teaching, marriage, homeownership, and general adulthood)

• Keep every bit of semi-important paperwork you ever fill out of receive. You don’t want to spend hours on the phone/internet/in boxes at the top of your closet looking for them frantically when a mortgage lender wants them the next morning.

• Don’t let people look down on you because you are young. Sure, I’m 22. Sure I don’t have a whole lot of life experiences. But that doesn’t mean I am not professional and fully competent in my field. Sure, in contemporary America, I am much younger than the average bride, but I am old enough to know that I love my husband and will love him for the rest of my life.

• Life requires a thick skin. You can’t cry every time a parent disagrees with your educational philosophy, a colleague treats you like a student, or someone flips you off at a four way stop sign. People will always defend themselves to protect themselves or the ones they care about. You have to realize that not everything can be taken personally. Some people may truly not like the way you do things, and sometimes they may be right. Take true criticism and learn from it. But learn how to tune out the criticism that is just plain crazy.

• Don’t get too comfortable. I spent all year saying, “man, I can’t wait for next year”. Now next year is not shaping up to be the way I expected it to be. I should have seen it coming from a mile away, but I just assumed my job would be there next year. Try to love your life the way it is, but be flexible and ready for change at any moment.

• The hard days really do make you stronger. You all know that my 8th grade class made me want to pull out my hair this year. And I was not even the slightest bit emotional when they graduated, because I was so ready to be done with them. But I really did learn a lot from them. They taught me how to handle a difficult classroom, how to problem solve, and how ridiculous I look and sound when I get really mad. Knock on wood, but I feel like after them, I can handle anything.

• A disagreement doesn’t have to be a fight. It took me a while to figure this one out. And lets be honest…I’m still working on it. But when your husband complains because the laundry is almost never done, its not because he hates you, its just because he really needs clean underwear. (And don’t think I do all the chores, Nick does all of the dishes, and that’s no easy task.) And after a moment of frustration, its much better to cool down for 5 minutes, than to scream for 15.

• Have a drink whenever you feel it is necessary…But I don’t think I needed to tell any of you that one. =)