Influence.

Today we had a day at school without kids for professional development. We all came into the day curious since they didn't tell us what we were going to be learning about. It ended up being all about character development and servant leadership (something out school is founded on) and it was a really wonderful day.

I wanted to share what I thought was possibly the best part of the day. We were discussing leadership and the definition 'Leadership is influence, nothing more, nothing less.' Individually we were asked to write down the top 15 people who we think had the biggest influence on the world. After we wrote out lists we shared them with the table, guess who everyone except one person had at the top of their lists....Jesus! I was so excited and encouraged by this fact. Even though I know that some of them may or may not be believers, it was refreshing to actually hear that name being talked about in school. Being a public teacher you can't be open about religion but there are so many times that I wish I could. We ended up making it a survey of all 100+ teachers at the training and almost 90% of them agreed that Jesus was the person with the biggest influence on the world. This made my heart happy.

Jesus has had such an influence on every single one of us. He came for us, he lived for us, he died for us. Nobody else can love us as much as he does. Knowing that most of my coworkers believe the same thing makes me even happier with the place that I work and was definitely the highlight of my day.

midweek confessions

I've been away for a while and I figured there was no better way to come back than linking with E for some Miweek Confessions!

1. I still love my job. Every day there are little things that just make me so happy that the stress, worry, and exhaustion are all worth it. I have yet to question if this was the right career for me and I think that as a first year teacher I am blessed to be feeling this good about it.

2. My boyfriend and I are signing a lease on an apartment...today! We have been living 300 miles apart since we graduated college in May of 2012. I am beyond excited to be living in the same place as him and not have to only see him a couple weekends a month. I'm so ready for our life to continue together and this is such a big step. We are going furniture shopping today and while I am thinking walmart, he has bigger plans. We will see what our bank accounts allow.

3. I am so ready for Christmas this year! Usually I am a person who likes to wait until after thanksgiving but I'm so ready to go out and start shopping for people. My favorite part about the holidays is picking out great presents for people because it brings me so much joy watching them open them and be excited about what I got them, especially when it's something they really wanted. It's also an excuse to shop, and I love to shop! Buttttt, I haven't started listening to Christmas music yet. That is one thing that I will stand firm on.

4. I wear leggings or skinny jeans every wednesday. This wouldn't be such an issue, except that I have a class that i see only on wednesdays and they probably think that I should get some more clothes. Granted it is always a different dress, I wonder if they notice and judge me. I wear dress pants every other day except friday, thank God for casual Fridays.

5. I get to see my best friend on Friday! I haven't seen her since her college graduation in May and I can't wait! We are going to visit our college for our band director's last football game. He is retiring after 25 years. The impact that he had on us as students was life changing. We all look up to him and he kept us in check all of our college years. We love him like a father and it will be bittersweet saying goodbye. He deserves retirement though and will be living it up in his cabin in Montana.

That's all for this week. Off for some professional development this morning then a crazy wednesday. Thanks for reading! Happy Hump Day! :]

Dear November...

Dear November,

We are already a few days in and you have been a great month so far. I came back from a great trip, got an extra hour of sleep, and made the decision to get my health back on track. Please send us some sunny fall days to make up for the fact that we barely have any daylight. I don't have any big things happening this month but in a way I am thankful for that, thankful for a little more time to myself and for some time I can give to others.

This month my boyfriend is supposed to be moving to my town so I cannot wait for that to happen. After being in a long distance relationship for almost 18 months since we graduated college it will be amazing to be living in the same place again.

The football team at the school I teach at made it to the playoffs so I will have some more football games to attend. I will also be going back to my college for my band director's last game there, after 26 years. It is going to be a special day for him and I am so thankful to be able to attend.

At the end of the month we have Thanksgiving and Black Friday! Due to family things I am not a very big fan of Thanksgiving but I LOVE going out and getting steals on Black Friday. This is a special time for my mom and I and since I will have an entire apartment to furnish and decorate I think that it will be the perfect time for that.

Happy November, everyone!

Nationals Update!

I am home from Nationals and I must say, it was an amazing trip! It was everything that I hoped for and more. The kids had a blast, I had a blast, and we all left with smiles on our faces. I am going to update you based on the 'hopes' that I posted before the trip.

-We had no issues in the airport and the fact that we flew Southwest was kinda cool because the kids could sit by whoever they want and change on each flight. Our last flight coming home we had some crazy turbulence and one of my students threw up when we got off the flight but thankfully we made it home safe and sound.

-We made it to the hotel easy-peasy! The airport shuttle driver was hilarious and told us stories the whole way there.

-We didn't lose any kids! The first day my partner teacher lose his briefcase (thankfully nothing super important was in it) so the rest of the week we joked that it was my job to not lose the kids. I succeeded and we didn't even have any near disasters. Thank goodness for kids to meet you where they are supposed to, when they are supposed to.

-We had two teams place FIRST in the nation, which means I have four students who are National Champions. We blew the goal of one student in the top 3 out of the water. Each student was in a different division (they take the top 1 per state) so they weren't competing against each other, only students from other states.  I am so thrilled for those students and that accomplishment. Our other students finished 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th in their respective divisions. Not too shabby!

-I'm not sure if it was the time of their life but I think that they all had a wonderful time and based on the conversations we had on the last day, the are all inspired and ready to start working on their projects for next year. It's pretty exciting. :]

I am so thankful to have been able to go on this trip and have this experience with the kids. I can't believe how blessed I am.

Back to school tomorrow, I'm excited to see the rest of my kids!