Let the games begin...

Orientation starts tomorrow. Oh. Crap.

I really should be in bed sleeping but I had a stressful night and need to unwind. You know how you have these plans for how you are going to go about your day and then a wrench gets thrown it to remind you "HEY! YOU ARE NOT IN CONTROL HERE!" Ya, well today my car keys were that wrench.

On my way home from babysitting I noticed that my gas tank was way low. I pulled into the gas station and promptly locked my keys in the car. Crap. Crap. Crap. Keys and phone. I was at a loss for what to do. Thank God for the young woman who walked in with her smart phone. I learned later that her name was Beth and she was literally a Godsend. She called AAA and waited on hold for a while. We got them set up to come and she gave me her cell phone number in case they didn't show up. I honestly don't know what I would have done without her. I am still in awe of how the whole situation ended up and am so glad to be lying here in bed typing instead of pacing up and down in front of mapco.

I'm really terrified of starting this job. I know that I am tired and overwhelmed by the gas station fiasco and that everything will look brighter in the morning but right now I just keep thinking "I don't want to do this. I want to stay home and keep doing what I'm doing." I found a great devotional tonight though that focused on Jeremiah 29:11: I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord. Plans to prosper you, not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future. The devotional was specifically for teachers, which is great. It talks about how God gave me this job because he knows me and he knows where I need to be. He placed me in this school, with these teachers and these students because it's part of His plan for me. While I know all this is true, I'm still scared to death that I don't know what I'm doing. I guess I just have to trust that God has placed people in  my life that can show me and teach me how to fulfill my job.

I actually do need to sleep now so I can wake up bright and early to head to new teacher orientation in the morning. Bring on the acronyms!!!!!

Let the race begin.

I've finally done it. I've landed my first job. According to my email, I've sent out over 70 cover letters and resumes. I've had 7 interviews and received 4 job offers. It was a painful, frustrating, and obnoxious process. There was tons of waiting, pacing, and calling Dad to ask "when can I email them again?" But now it is finally over, for this year. I have a job teaching second grade next year at a Title I school in Franklin, TN. While its just an year long interim position, I really believe that this is where I am supposed to start my career. If you had asked me a few months ago, really even a few weeks ago, I would have told you that I wanted to teach above third grade. But after some thought and conversations with my mom and a trusted professor I decided that this was a really good opportunity and that, while it would be hard, second grade would be a great place for me to start.

The scary thing? Now that I have a job, I actually have to be a teacher!!!!! School starts in less than one month (OH MY GOSH. THAT'S SOON) and I have no idea where to begin. I meet with my new teacher mentor next week and I'm sure I will discover lots of things to do. So far I have very little ready. I did write my classroom management plan last week (although I'm sure it will get drastically modified between now and August 9th) and have made labels for materials. They're pretty cute :)

My mom and I are going to do some light school supply shopping this weekend to get a little bit more done in terms of getting my classroom set up. I still have a long way to go but at least I know where I am going.