Every January teachers return back to the classroom after a well-deserved break. As much as I have rested and rejuvenated myself, I swear January is 642 days long! It seems to be the same year after year. The minute to minute decisions can become overwhelming and sometimes make me question if I’m in the right profession. I always have my question answered by one ray of sunshine throughout my day. The key is to be open to seeing and feeling that light.
Never lose sight of the purpose that drove you to education. Teaching is like a roller coaster. You start the year in August building the momentum of what the year will be. As you approach the top of the highest, steepest drop you are filled with hope, excitement, and vision. Once you drop over the peak, the exhilaration hits you and life gets busy. Within months you are losing momentum and it feels mundane. That’s when the count downs might start or you no longer see the vision.
In the moments you want to give up or the days seem too dark, you must remember your purpose. We talk so much about meeting the students where they are or providing them with the supports to cope with difficult situations, but what about teachers. We need the same grace we serve to others. Do not forget your chair at the table when you are serving grace and patience. You deserve to be loved, valued, and heard as well. Do what makes you feel happy.
Take the day off for a mental health day, go to vent and then let it go, support a colleague who might need that extra joy in their day, offer to take a challenging student for a few minutes, or just listen. Once you begin to get outside of the mundane, you will begin to see your purpose reignite. It won’t feel like one more thing to do or an extra duty for your day. Once you plant the seed of hope, value, or being seen, you will start harvesting the reward of those same seeds in your days.
I have been in education since 2004. Throughout the years, I always feel like I have it together and I can tackle whatever is thrown my way, until I don’t. I have enjoyed every student and colleague I’ve met on my journey. There are days I have loved every minute of what I do and days where I question why I’m still in education. Every moment has brought me to the current me, which leads me to “Live HERE on Purpose”. The moments at the bottom on the roller coaster, believing there is no way to get up the hill, cause us to be vulnerable in our feelings of not being enough. When you are in the low parts of the school year, make sure to find the group of colleagues that will cheer you on and you can do the same for them.
I Love HERE, because I’m Loved HERE
Now that we are almost done with January 642, 2022, I want to be content in the HERE and not look for the next opportunity to be THERE. I am in the place I need to be, living my purpose, and preparing for the THERE once I’ve developed HERE. May your January end with a renewed sense of purpose and you feel valued. You are loved right where you are.