The End...
I find myself in a strange place. I'm in an in-between place, where things are not quite finished and have not quite begun. I have officially finished my teaching career at East Valley Middle School; this is also where I began my teaching career, but will begin teaching a combined middle school summer program in only five short days. I'm without a classroom but still teaching. My students were a huge help in the process of packing my class and loading my truck; some a little over-enthusiastic, which made me wonder, but immediately chalked up to their having a bright future in heavy lifting. I had the kids sign my year book and I signed some too, and that was it. I thought I would have mixed feelings about leaving, a notorious water-wheel, I only lost my composure once while talking to my principle on my way out of the building. He's grown accustom to our teary conversations (on my end) having to go so far as to pull me into a supply closet once, because I was loosing my shit in the hallway during ISAT testing. (This has only happened once and was not my finest teaching moment.) Episodes like this are mostly a result of teaching a subject that I am passionate about and advocating for students that I care for deeply; and I'm sure some kind of hormonal imbalance. So needless to say, I don't really feel sad or excited or nervous because nothing that out of the ordinary has happened yet...the Prozac helps too!
The fact that I will not actually be leaving the States until August makes this whole transition process a slow one at that, but the ambling pace seems to be just what I need and summer school just the distraction to help pass the several month hiatus. In all reality there is so much to be done in such a short time, it will surely fly by without my realizing. There are houses to pack, plane tickets to buy, friends and family to see and all kinds of loose ends to tie up. Small things, but still very important.
The Beginning...
I have been accepted into the Masters of Art History and Visual Culture program at Richmond International University in London. There are several details that are still in the works, minor ones like finding a place to live, getting a visa (already in process), and a scholarship, but I trust that those details have already been looked after as has been the case through this entire endeavor. I'm finding that I can only take one day at a time or else I get overwhelmed with the minutiae. I have learned and continue to learn so much about myself during this process.
I began looking into schools about two years ago. I had begun to feel restless and was in the middle of one of my most challenging teaching years, ever. I felt that leaving was what I needed to do, but I had so many reservations. So, I did what anyone would do, I didn't move, I didn't really do anything, I just waited. I was incredibly discontent with my situation, so I began letting things go, things I knew were holding me back. I also gave into the feeling that I needed guidance from someone older and much wiser than myself. I found a mentor in an amazing woman named Merilyn Thompson. We began to meet together weekly and more importantly to pray. Let me tell you, Merilyn can pray, and she did most of the praying...let's just be honest here...at least out loud. She was so confident in the Lord and I needed to see that in my own life. She prayed and she prayed and she prayed. Slowly, I began to understand God's call in my life, and I began to understand prayer, and then I began to pray and pray and pray.
So here we are, on the precipice of an adventure (or misadventure), because of prayer and stepping out in faith. I'm heading for something much bigger than myself and there is a kind of comfort in feeling so small.
