"We were very impressed with your interview and we have decided we would love to have You at our school!"....Wait, am I dreaming? After tirelessly applying for jobs all spring, (to the point where my stress level was so high my eye constantly twitched) I was in absolute disbelief that I, Lindsay Gillman, a silly, somewhat naive 22 year old was going to be Miss Gillman, first grade teacher!The excitement subsided and I was stricken with fear! Am I qualified for this?! Ok... I have my teaching license but do I have what it takes? After spending weeks in my classroom preparing for the school year I started to feel more confident! Thankfully my mentor teacher is literally an angel! She would come in while I bombarded her with questions for hours, and for some reason she continued to answer her phone and help me whenever I needed anything!
The end of July came and I hit a big bump in the road. One of the big reasons I was able to take this teaching job, which was over 2 hours away from my family, was the comfort of knowing my boyfriend of almost 6 years, lived only an hour away. Though our relationship hadn't been doing well for over a year I was convinced that it work in the end. Well, it didn't. I now realized I was alone in this unfamiliar town with only weeks before tennis (forgot to mention I also coach JV girl's tennis) and school started. This was possibly the lowest point in my life. Blah blah blah.... Sadness..... I hate being sad so let's fast forward!
Just weeks after that I unexpectedly met my prince charming and we've been together for almost a year! :)
After meeting Seth I felt like I could breathe. I hadn't been myself for over a year - I was cranky and sad and boring! It felt so good to be happy and positive and silly again! With that positive attitude I was able to start the school year on a great note!
First day of school! I got there at 6:30a.m.- we didn't need to report until 7:30! I was so excited!!!
I know this sounds silly but the first time I felt like a real teacher was that morning when I walked to the office drinking coffee out of my travel mug listening to my heels clicking down the hall! I'm a real woman-look at me.... Drinking coffee, walking with a purpose, checking emails...the next moment it felt real was when my 22 little 6 and 7 year olds clambered into the room at 8:05a.m. After I quickly said hello, took attendance and did lunch count it was time to ship the kiddos off to their specialists. I starred at their backpacks with a big smile on my face... My classroom was now complete :)
