Hellos and Goodbyes….and Hellos

“You say goodbye and I say hello
Hello, hello
I don't know why you say goodbye
I say hello
Hello, hello
I don't know why you say goodbye

I say hello.”~Hello, Goodbye by the Beatles

Change.  It is a reality of life.  It is not always easy and not always welcome.  But in the end, it is necessary.  I am beginning another transition in my life as I change to another school in the fall. One short year ago I was finishing at one school, would start another one in the fall of that year, and here I am moving again.  I hear there are people in this world who live in the same county, work the same job their whole lives, and die within a few miles of their birth. I guess I will not fall into that category, although I have not moved permanently far from my original home town.

I have made some good friends at this school. I have learned to juggle four preparations and have seen the workings of a small district.  Best of all, I have not had any major trials, dramas or changes during my time here. In that sense, it was a much needed respite from big life events.  I have taught and nurtured a new group of students, although not everyone was a fan of my style and personality. But that is to be expected in this business.  But most of all, I have emerged into a new world, one that is on the other side of a tough year that was 2011. 

This fall I start at an Academy of Science and Technology in a much larger school district in Arkansas.  It is fraught with newness, with differences in both required teaching style and expectations, and it is as wide open with opportunity as the ocean.  It is also rich with the fear of the unknown.  A new state and new curriculum.  A new group of students.  A place where my potential and talents are recognized and I am welcomed with open arms.  A chance to show off my teaching chops in a new state and learn how the cogs of education turn there.  A chance to begin again. Rebirths are my specialty and I embark on a new one in just three short months.

I have enjoyed my time here. Although it was short, it was a much needed transition between major changes in my life. I have learned in the past two years that the rollercoaster that is this life rolls on.  I wave goodbye as I top the first hill, and say hello as I take the plunge into the fast-approaching unknown.

See you at the next hill.

“Obladi, oblada, life goes on, brah…Lala, how the life goes on…..”