June 7, 2024
Goodbye Kindergarten...
...and hello, SECOND GRADE!
...not only that, but our family will be moving once more. This time, back to the sunny west coast in San Diego. It's a bittersweet moment because the last four years have been filled with so many memories. I was pregnant with Olivia - who happened to bring with her arrival a snowstorm that wiped out Texas for a week (snow like this hadn't happened since the 1980s!). She had so many firsts in our home. And speaking of home, we became first-time homeowners here in San Antonio, too! Just looking back makes me realize how much this place provided for our family when we needed it most.
But, like many other times in our life as a family, things shift and change. With that change comes new opportunities...
So, here's a bit of a long post that shares what leading us back to San Diego!
Shifting Feelings in 2024
This move back to San Diego didn't fully reveal itself until the 11th hour. It all kind of started with this school year and the shifting of feelings I was having professionally.
If I'm being honest, this was my year where I wanted to leave the classroom.
Why?
Because there's nothing worse than feeling as though day after day my tank becomes empty due to the ever evolving demands of my profession...so much so that I have absolutely nothing left to offer my family...my kids...when I get home. My work life was beginning to dramatically affect my home life and that was something I knew had to change.
I flirted with the idea A LOT and even began making moves towards a career outside of the classroom. There were a multitude of factors that lead to this, but being who I am, I sat with these feelings and reflected a lot throughout the school year.
I absolutely love what I do. I have always felt like being an educator was a calling - something that added a value and purpose greater than me. However, this year in particular, I found myself questioning whether the classroom continued to be the place where I felt the most fulfilled and where I had the most impact. I know other teachers were feeling the same way - not just at my campus, but everywhere.
Yes, teaching is hard work. Yes, you just have to adapt and carry on.
But, there just seems to be this normalization that happens where we, as teachers, make things okay that aren't okay. These things lead to other things and eventually you find yourself in a space that doesn't bring you the joy you once had. This was where I found myself this year.
So, I did what others in this place would do...and that was to look for my next opportunity outside of the classroom.
Leaving the classroom...
I began to educate myself on careers that would hire former teachers - careers where my educational experience could be leveraged and utilized...you know, those "transferrable skills." Throughout this process, I kept coming back to curriculum development. I began to feel excited about this switch and felt it was a natural progression in my career - teacher turned curriculum developer. It meant I could stay in education, but give back in a new and impactful way.
However, it would never be.
No matter how many resumes I sent out or interviews I had, no one was hiring. The talent pools were so large and I found myself competing with people who had way more experience in the field than I did. Also, I quickly learned that my years of teaching experience didn't quite transfer the way I would have hoped.
On top of experiencing the feelings I already had, this next career dream of mine was deflating with every copy-and-paste recruiter rejection email that landed in my inbox. I found myself so frustrated with the process and questioned even more why I was experiencing what I was.
I felt like a mess.
I was a mess.
I didn't have direction and every step I took towards something, it didn't come to fruition the way I wanted.
That's when I sat back with and realized that leaving the classroom wasn't the answer for me...
What's Meant To Be Will Find a Way
Over the last decade or so I have lived with a sort of mantra that says: "what's meant to be will find a way." This quote is my way of making sense of the things that happen in life...and the things I can't control. It's a mantra that helps me be at peace for the way things work out - even the difficult or disappointing.
Everything about finding my place at my campus was mean't to be...for that time. Sitting today, I knew I had to make a change. But that change didn't necessarily mean away from the classroom.
As I began to let go...things somehow began to take shape and I found the direction I was so badly seeking.
Back to Cali...
How did San Diego come to be after all?
Well, it took a bit of time and for opportunities to present themselves. Both my husband and I sat down and discussed what our options were and where we both wanted in our careers. My husband's work will always dictate our moves/relocations because of the nature of what he does. We planned for various places like Austin. For a moment it was even North Carolina. In the end, my husband has various opportunities for career advancement in San Diego so that was a natural top choice.
We had just lived there and absolutely loved it. So, when the opportunity came up we immediately jumped on it!
Now that San Diego was in view...
I knew I wanted to try and have a job lined up before we moved. Every single move we've done I've always had to quit, move, then find work. And it's always worked out. However, this move I wanted to be able to have the peace of mind that I'll be able to work right as the new school year was beginning.
I applied to a variety of schools and was able to land a few interviews via Zoom. From there, I took a quick, less-than-24-hours, trip to San Diego to meet and tour these schools in-person (which I absolutely fell in love with). Although exhausting, I'm so glad I took that trip because in the following days I received a call and an offer!
It was this opportunity that helped me regain the joy and excitement I had for teaching. It was the people I met along the way, the community I would be serving, and the school itself that helped me rediscover the passion and love I have as an educator.
Second Grade
In this new role I will be heading back to 2nd grade - a grade I haven't taught in ages. However, everything about this new opportunity fell into place in exactly the way it needed to. Even though I've been a primary teacher in kindergarten for the majority of my teaching career, there's something I'm so excited for in teaching the bigger kids. The curriculum is fun and the kids are still at the age of curiosity and having fun in their learning.
A big change is coming for our family this summer - and even for me professionally. I look forward to what this new year will bring for us and I'm excited to share in that journey with you all here!
Happy summer, all!
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