26 and still alive

"Birthdays are good for you. Statistics show that the people who have the most live the longest." -Larry Lorenzoni


As today is my birthday, it makes for a wonderful day to reflect on who I am, to take a snapshot of now, to think about how I've changed, and ultimately, who I want to be. And, yet throughout this year (unlike last!) I've had hardly any time for reflection. It's been "just keep swimming, just keep swimming," as Dory from Finding Nemo would say.

This year I've found a career that challenges me more than I've ever been challenged before. But, I do believe I've found the classroom to be my passion, and I'm really proud of the things that I accomplished with little to no background knowledge about education. However, I've pushed aside my personal creative pursuits in order to conserve every little bit of energy for my school projects. I've missed that sanctuary, and I'm committed to finding a better balance in the next year.

Interestingly, this year Rob and I switched work-related stress levels, which has forced us to flip-flop our usual empathy roles. Honestly, I don't know what I would have done without him. No matter how bad the school day was, I always looked forward to coming home to him to watch our tv shows and eat dinner together. Even if it was usually fast food! And, even if I was still crabby in the evening. Thanks honey!

With these new experiences, I have met a lot of new people this year. And, I'm lucky enough to say that I've become really close with the Language Arts teacher from my team. We were both in need of a close friend, and were blessed enough to find that in each other. I've also been delighted to find a group of people to get together with after school for drinks, especially after a long week.

Looking back, there were few real memorable events that stand out from the pack. I was just too tired to make memories. But, I'm eager to use the lessons I've learned this year (from all aspects of my life) to do it all with less stress in this next year. To make the most of these precious years of youth.
[By the way... I made the dress that I'm wearing above. With the help of this tutorial. I found the tanktop and skirt at Goodwill, and just used the red knit fabric I had on hand, rather than search and search for wide elastic band. Next time I want to find some of the real stuff, though!]