last day

Today was the last day I had to report to school.

Here's a whole bunch of stuff in a list because I'm lazy and do not want to put it in paragraphs right now:

• I sold my moped this week.. difficult. but at the same time, I know the guy we sold it to was SO EXCITED for it and LOVED it the moment he saw it, so I have faith that he will love it as much as I did.
• I'm 27? Really? Already? Wow.
• Next year will be my 5th year teaching! FIVE! How? What? Who? Feels like just yesterday...
• Two weeks in our new place and I LOVE IT. LOVE!
• My parents will be here on Tuesday!!
• This school year was better than I could have expected
• The last two days of school were way too dramatic.
• I still don't know if I'm in the right grad program
• I got a beautiful painted martini glass from a parent (who thanked me in the main office for the note I wrote her daughter) and student as a birthday gift! it was so sweet!
• I also received two emails from parents thanking me for a wonderful job and writing my nice end of the year notes to my students. That's the first time that happened! It was really nice!
• my students wrote so many nice notes on my board and all yelled HAPPY BIRTHDAY at me at various times on Wednesday
• Got an email from one of the first students I ever taught at GHS (seriously, he was in my first class as a teacher). He told me about his first year at ODU (did pretty well) and how he was really getting into literature (YAY!). I love that I get yearly/semester updates from my former students!
• I loved teaching 9th graders this year! LOVED!
• I am teaching 9, 10 and 11 next year. I'm excited to see a lot of my students from this year again next year. Seriously! I loved them!
• I love my department and the teachers in them. They are amazing.
• I might have a student teacher next year.
• Had to say goodbye to a really amazing special ed teacher who was laid off. As the principal talked about how much they appreciated her, I almost cried along with 3/4 of the faculty present. This woman was absolutely amazing but unfortunately was the last one hired, therefore, laid off due to budget problems. Heartbreaking.
• Have I told you I love living in Richmond? 'Cause I do. It's beautiful.
• I might have to do summer school this summer, but it's uncertain right now. Pros of doing summer school: Money to pay for my summer classes and a new laptop. Pros of NOT doing summer school: Free time, more time to visit friends & family, etc. Either way, I win.

Not sure what this summer will bring and I'm not sure what the first semester of school will bring (we're switching from an every-other-day block schedule to a 4x4 schedule). All I know is that I am determined to ace my two summer classes and return next year ready to take on the 4x4 schedule change. The first semester will be rough, but I know that I have other teachers to rely on to help as well as a principal who is very supportive and understanding. No matter what, my fifth year of teaching will be exciting! :)