Looking Back on 2021

 I cannot believe where this journey called life has taken me. Sure, I have left a few of you out of the travel plans...ok...pretty much over two years worth of blogging, but who is counting?! For the brevity's sake I will provide the highlights:

8/2019 - accepted into a doctoral program

10/2019 - started a new job

11/2029 - elected Secretary of our County's women's club

12/2019 - became foster parents

2/2020 - Covid restrictions

5/2020 - lost my job due to Covid

6/2020 - oldest child graduated high school

8/2020 - started subbing in local school districts

5/2021 - lost my adjunct professor position due to Covid (enrollment #s)

7/2021 - adopted our foster daughter

8/2021 - offered and accepted a job as a teacher at a local school

11/2021 - elected President of our County's women's club

12/2021 - completed all of the course work for the doctoral program

12/27/2021 - Today :)

You are now caught up. First, I need to share that everything over the past couple of years has been God-inspired and I am still in awe of how he has moved in my life and those of my family. Second, I must stress the fact that these are only the highlights - real life happened in and between these occasions. And, as you know, real life is messy, hard, frustrating, joyful, angsty, and so much more.

I hit a low in 2021. After all, I had lost my well-paying job and a job that I had always wanted, being a professor. It is not that I ever considered subbing to be a menial role (it is absolutely not), but that it did not offer me the ability to actually 'do' a job - or so I thought. I learnt more as a substitute than I could have ever in my other roles. Working with kids has a way of humbling you, forcing you to evaluate your strengths and weaknesses, and gives you an insight into how to build up the dreams of others.

I firmly believe this was a lesson that God needed me to learn and I was not about to do it on my own - clearly. Then there is the irony in it all. I had applied for countless jobs during that time. Countless. I applied for jobs that aligned with my resume, then I aligned my resume for certain jobs. I applied for every single adjunct role, at every college and university within a forty mile radius, that met my professional and academic backgrounds. I even applied for roles that were outside of my wheelhouse because honestly, when you need work and no one wants you, you start to grasp. 

I should also mention that I studied for and took the state licensing exams to become an educator in my state. I then took the core content exam necessary to teach the one subject I have the most experience and knowledge in - business. What do you know, I succeeded. From there, I applied for every business teacher position that came up within a forty-mile radius. Not only did I receive no offers, I did not even receive a chance at an interview (something that I had become quite accustomed to). 

Then, through God's grace and the love of friends, I received a call. By word of mouth a school had learned of my name. They scheduled an interview and the next day, well, I was offered the position. Hear me out...I would have NEVER in a million years thought of this position. But God. Oh, he is so good. I am teaching a subject that has always been a passion but never a career choice. More importantly, I am teaching students I would have not thought to teach, specifically at an age range that I have not worked with before. Oh, but God. 

I have been taught so much over the last couple of months, so much. I understand that my role is to teach them how to become stronger writers and to use all of the grammar rules, but they have and are teaching me more than any book ever could. They make me laugh. They make me cry. They make me work so much harder than I ever have, and all because I believe in them. I know they are all going to do great things and while I may not have a lasting imprint on their lives, they will have one on mine. You see, while they may be my students, they are all actually my teachers. Because of this, I want to work all the more to give them the best education I can.

Then, there is my education. You know, the one I am paying for and working diligently not to fail. I have comprehensive exams starting next week. I also have a seminar that I chose to take to help teach me how to be a better teacher. On top of all of this, I have less than six months to complete my doctoral project - the one I am behind on and requested a ten-week extension for. That said, I love my project because I love the people I am doing it for - my community. I really cannot wait to share all of it with everyone, but need to keep it buttoned up for now. 

Anyway, until the next post.

In His name, 

M

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