Though, I will be honest that I never grew up saying “My dream job is to be a seventh grade language arts teacher! WATCH OUT, WORLD!”

I kind of fell into teaching. Looking back, I think that part of me knew it a long, long time ago, probably when I started high school. I really saved so much of my English stuff- you know, that stuff you’ll NEVER SEE AGAIN but for whatever reason you can’t let it go?

Hey, look- there’s my project of a travel brochure for 8th grade that I made of southern France  for my French class- 8th grade! Throw it away? No, never? Why not?! BECAUSE IT MIGHT BE NEEDED SOMEDAY! Don’t try to argue with the logic of a packrat.

So, by process of elimination, I kind of realized that teaching was something that just felt… right.

It’s not easy. It’s not, heaven forbid, always fun.

But as things have happened, I have enjoyed teaching seventh grade immensely more than I thought could be possible. It truly is one of the most difficult times of our society, and I’d like to think I help kids make it through this trying period of their lives (I hope, at least… I’m sure some of them would disagree!).

To be honest, I would be thrilled to be in a high school. That’s what I’ve truly wanted since I decided to be a teacher. I’m one of those nuts that gets excited about Shakespeare and mythology. I love the ageless messages and questions about humanity posed by Shakespeare’s works, like Hamlet, Othello, The Tempest. I love how much of our society has founded itself based on the mythology of a culture nearly 3000 years ago, and how you can understand more about marketing and products, about themes and history, if you know your Greek/Roman/Norse/miscellaneous mythology. The Western Civilization culture is fascinating.

But I know that I am where I am for a reason. I’m going to the new school for a reason. It’s not always what I want, but it’s amazing to see how things like this, which originally feel like you are being held back from what you desire, end up being a good thing in the end.

I’ve learned a lot about the Texas education system. I’ve learned a lot about writing and the insane state testing here. I’ve learned more of the expectations for students this way that I would have missed before. I’ve met some neat and wonderful people because of this walk of life.

So it’s not always easy. I do get upset and frustrated. Students can be complete and utter morons sometimes. They can do stupid things that hurt us as teachers. But they can also be amazingly sweet, and impress you that somebody of that age is capable of that sort of maturity.

I may not get the positions I want any time soon. But all I can do is continue to do the best job humanly possible and hope that it proves my talents and capabilities.

***Edit: This is supposed to be a metaphor of my previous thoughts. I was informed how random it seemed, but it made sense in my head. Basically, life seems to give us the ugly cacti… but good things can come from seemingly worthless ones.***

The landscape in Texas can be ugly at times. I hate cactus (pural, cacti?). I think they are ugly, odd, and painful little plants. But even the ugliest things can become beautiful…