iTeach.

Sorry for being away! Thanks to Lauren who commented telling me to come back, you are so sweet. :]

The reason for my hiatus is that I was at a teachers conference all week. I am an agriculture teacher and all of the ag teachers from around the state got together for this conference. We spent a week sharing ideas, learning about changes happening in our state, and celebrating our success over the last year. This is the first time I got to interact with a lot of these teachers since I am new this year and just joining the ag teacher family. The knowledge that some of them have is incredible but their willingness to share that knowledge with new teachers is incredible. I left feeling excited for the upcoming school year and confident in my career choice. There are 10 other people who graduated with me this year and every year at conference it's going to be like a class reunion. It was an amazing week and I learned so much. I can't wait for September!

Summer is here!

Today is the last day of school and I'm not subbing so it is officially summer! I can't believe how fast this year has gone and how much has happened! I have totally grown up and it blows my mind. There are so many times that I still feel like a carefree college kid and then realize that no, I'm an actual teacher now. It's terrifying an exciting at the same time. Summers have always been a time of fun and traveling for me so I'm excited that this summer I still have some more adventures to look forward to. Here's a brief rundown of things I'm excited for this summer. 

1. Going to New Jersey to visit my dad! He lives down the shore and my brother and I will get to spend 10 days soaking up the sun, visiting Six Flags, and seeing all our family we don't see for the other 11 months and 3 weeks of the year. 
2. White water rafting! I haven't done this in 8 years or so and I'm so excited! I love the excitement of being on the river and I think it will be a great family bonding activity.
3. Spending time with my boyfriend. We live 250 miles apart and it's hard, but hopefully this summer we will be getting some quality time together. 
4. 6th of July party! I'm having a party after the 4th of July to get some of my friends together from school. I hoping for good weather so that we can sit on the deck, have a fire, and have a good time. 
5. Come August my life will be filled with teacher training's and meetings. I am excited for this because even though it will be a lot of work, it is the beginning of my career and I have to look forward to that! 
6. Decorating my classroom and shopping for school supplies and school clothes! My best friend is also a teacher and we will get to do all of these fun things together. 

There are even more things to look forward to but those are the ones that come to mind right now. I have so much to be thankful for. Thank you Lord for such a beautiful, wonderful, life. 

friendship.

This weekend marked one year since I graduated and moved away from college. I love looking back and seeing how my life and changed and one area that is particularly interesting is my friendships. For the most part things have happened pretty much how I predicted. I knew the people who I was going to stay close with and thankfully, that has happened. What has surprised me a little are the people who I wasn't really friends with who somehow I became really good friends with in the year that I have been away.

Friends all have different roles in life. There are the fun friends, serious friends, ones that you chat with about nothing in particular, ones you have deep conversations with, etc. I think it's important to have a mix of all these people and I value how different friendships can be. As I grow up I realize that I really crave people who know how to deal with my feelings and be supportive. I've always felt like the friend that people can rely on to vent, get advice, complain to, but then sometimes I feel like I can't always do that back. Some people are so caught up in their own issues that they forget to even ask how you are doing, and those are the friends that I see slowly slipping from my life. It's not that I think the worth revolves around me, but shouldn't my friends at least care enough to ask how I'm doing if they just spent an hour talking about themselves? It might sound selfish but I don't think it's too much to ask. I also find myself attracted to more positive people. I'm all about being happy and looking at the bright side. I know not everyone is able to do that but I think that it makes my life so much better, and surrounding myself with people who have a similar outlook on life really brings me up.

This past weekend I got to see a few of my close friends and it made me super thankful for the friendships that have (so far) lasted the test of distance and time. It's not always easy, but it's always worth it.

Friendship is a gift, cherish it.