Another Year and a Grateful Heart

This morning, I sat down to dust the cobwebs off of this little old blog of mine and write a post since it has been a while….only to discover that there were some major tech and graphic issues going on with my site.

I am not sure when it started, because life has just been a little too hectic for me to check in over here, but it totally deflated me. I shut my computer down, got a little angry (real talk), and walked away.

However, the more I thought about it, the more I realized that this is totally not something to get upset about. It’s time for some small graphic changes over here anyways, and it will actually be the perfect way to get myself and this space transitioned over to sharing about my new role in education. So, even though the blog looks straight blah…please ignore the mess, and I will share regardless.

If you hang out with me on Instagram (@rockytopteacher), then you know that I have been a lot more quiet than normal, and my content has been just “there”, because, as I have mentioned countless times on there, I am just trying to find my new place in the social media space once again. I refuse to force it, and I look forward to seeing what it becomes…….when the time is right. I started this blog as a way to document my journey in education, and that will always be the purpose of the blog. It is a journal of my time as an educator. Some of the content is great, some is cringeworthy, but it is me, and that is what I hope this space will always be.

In 2012, I jumped into the social media education world, and I have been so grateful for all that it has brought me (good and bad). Since that year, I have made so many real life friends from all over the US, a plethora of “online” friends,  I have traveled from coast to coast, gotten to present in a bunch of neat places and share with fellow educators, and even had the opportunity to be a part of an education cruise this summer.

I have had 8 beautiful years in the classroom at an amazing school, with incredible principals, in a district that is SO pro “what is best for kids” that it’s awesome. Our students have taught me so much over and over again. I have watched my practice and pedagogy change for what I hope was for the better. I have learned that sharing and learning with others can be fun and really challenged me and my teaching. I became obsessed with picture books (more that I already was), and connected with others that taught me how to teach better, stronger, and more efficiently.

I have also learned some painful lessons such as not everyone wants what is best for you and not everyone likes you. And, that is okay because it is what you learn in those moments is important. I have learned that follower numbers are just numbers, not every presentation you give is going to be great, and mistakes can be painful. I have posted content that doesn’t sit well with others and tried to figure out how to handle that in the right way. I didn’t handle it correctly, for those curious, but it was still a needed learning moment for me. It hurt, and it was a struggle. But, it gave me a chance to reflect on what to do and not to do; what to say and how to say it better in the future.

In the last year specifically, I have read a ton of cool books, finished my Education Specialist degree, and will hopefully, research willing, continue to plow through my Doctoral program this next year. I stumbled across a very unexpected opportunity to leave the elementary world and step into an assistant principal role in a high school. It has been hard…real hard…but I am SO glad that I did it. I love my new home, and cannot wait to watch that journey unfold. I hope that I can be what the students, their families, and our teachers need of me. My little one turned 2 a few days before Christmas this year, and she brings my family so much joy. We visited Hawaii in May, went on our first cruise, have had countless family visits this year, hugged on our loved ones as much as possible, and just LIVED.

This decade has brought me the good, the bad, the ugly, the AWESOME, the “not sure what this is” moments, and everything in between. There has been a lot going on. It is me, and it is beautiful in its own way.

So, as I wrap up this random reflection post of 2019, I want to share my “one word” with you. I know not everyone loves the one word challenge, but I truly adore it because it encourages me to reflect, dream, and challenge.