Oh Life :)

For me, the changes that have taken place in the last year and a half have been so incredibly profound that I sometimes hardly believe my own good fortune!  In adulthood, there are several milestones that shape you into the type of person you will inevitably become.  These milestones include education, career, marriage and babies. For me, I have begun and/or succeeded in 3 out of these 4 so quickly that now, when I have some time to sit and breathe, it makes my head spin!

A year and a half ago, I was unsure what I wanted to do for my career having just graduated from college, was recently back together with my true love after a misguided "break," and working as a server at the Cheesecake Factory. Suddenly, the clouds aligned and things all began to make sense in a sequence of events that took place almost simultaneously.

Having spent four months apart from my true love, Chad, made it more clear than ever when we reunited that he was the one I wanted to spend my life with. Those months apart were so critical to us being where we are now, and while I feel that ever feeling we shouldn't be together was a huge misjudgment, I would never go back and change that decision.  I know he wouldn't either. It made it possible for us to literally compare life with or without each other and make the conscious decision to without a doubt spend our lives together! So, on March 5, 2010, Chad got down on one knee and proposed marriage to me.  It was the best day of my life (until the wedding of course) and one that I will never forget! I was so glad that we were finally on the exact same page, had talked about and explicitly laid out some compromises to issues that we knew would always be there, and just finally gave ourselves to each other 100%. On November 20, 2010, we had our dream wedding. It was such a wonderful day! It all happened so quickly and I can't believe that we have hit this milestone together and that the wedding has already happened! Here are just a few tid bits from our special day :)

Around the same time as my reunion with my true love and husband (*sigh*), I got really lucky and got hired on for Central Unified School District working in an SDC class at Steinbeck Elementary School. I had applied for the job with the only goal to get out of serving tables. I had never worked in classrooms, had really very little experience with kids in general, and had certainly not spent any time working within the special education population.  However, my first day on this job I had an epiphany: This is my calling. I don't know if I can describe what it felt like because it was so surreal, but to me, it was just this euphoric realization that, "Oh!!! This is what I am supposed to be doing!" After this realization, I didn't want to waste anymore time--I knew this was my calling and I was ready to get going and on a path to a career. My dad works for Brandman University, which is a private university with several post grad programs including the special education credential program. I started the program that same week that I signed up and that was that! It happened very quickly, and each day I spent at work as a teacher's aide, and each night I spent in class for my credential just really validated my decision that this was where I wanted to be.

I was working on my mild/moderate special ed. credential when I got hired on as a Behavior Intervention Aide for Shelly Baird school in Hanford.  The kiddos at this school are the severely handicapped and my job now is to go in and help teachers create behavior plans and interventions specific to some of the more challenging students.  It didn't take me long to realize how much I love these kids, too! So, I am now finishing up my dual credential so that I can teach either in the mild/moderate setting or the moderate/severe setting. I love my job everyday and really enjoy the challenge of getting in there and figuring out what will work for the kids. They are like little puzzles and I love it!  As time has gone on, I have realized how anxious I was getting to have my own class. I have a lot of respect for the teachers and staff I work for, but am very aware of my level on the totem pole and know that ultimately I can't make any decisions on my own.  Last month, I finally was close enough to being finished with my credential, and had passed my CBEST, CSETs and RICA tests so I could actually apply for teaching jobs!

The process of applying has been very stressful, exciting, grueling and time-consuming but also really productive! Just 3 days ago, my dream came true and I was offered a teaching position for the severely handicapped for Fresno Unified School District! A "big girl" job, with a "big girl" paycheck and right here in Fresno! No more spending 10+ hours a week commuting! I actually get to go to work and come home to my husband every night. I don't have to wake up at 5am just to get to work in another city by 7:30. And, to top it off, I am done with my classes for my credential on August 20th so I don't even have to worry about working all day and then attending class anymore. This is the start of my career. I am just elated.

All that said, it occurred to me that I have gone through a LOT in the last year! It has been such a wild ride full of so many emotions it has been so overwhelming.  I had so many moments this year that made me feel just blessed and proud: Getting engaged, passing all my tests for teaching, getting married, getting called for teaching interviews and now, signing an official teaching contract and completing my credential. I had a moment after my job offer on Thursday where I just sat in my car and cried so hard. They were tears of accomplishment, of pride, of happiness. And, to be completely honest, they were tears of complete and utter exhaustion. I have not had even a minute to stop and fully immerse myself in all these wonderful things.

While I am aware that this new beginning is going to bring all new stresses and levels of exhaustion, right now I finally have time to breathe. This year, I feel I proved to myself what my loved ones have always told me. That I am strong and can accomplish anything.  I actually believe that now :)

I thought I would start a blog about all these new experiences. Being a new wife has already brought SO many challenges, that quite frankly, are hilarious when you get down to it and I feel I should be sharing them because I'm sure so many others can relate!  Also, my experiences with my students are equally profound and hilarious and worth sharing.