Every New Beginning Comes From Some Other Beginnings End.

Yes. I did just quote "Closing Time" by Semi Sonic, and I do realize how cheesy that is... but it also fits by feelings right now almost perfectly.

This past Friday I finished my first year of teaching and I can tell you that day was an emotional roller coaster. My first year as a teacher basically proved all the tired cliches I heard throughout college true. It was one of the most difficult, rewarding, and exhausting years of my life.

I spent the better part of the past 8 months with about 75 teaching and learning from 7th grader students in a rural Wisconsin town. Even though I loved my students, coworkers, and the unique challenges of teaching middle school I made the difficult decision to move to a new district and a new challenge for next year. Leading to the tear-soaked, emotional last day of school that was Friday.

I love all my 7th graders, even those that challenged me on a daily basis and I will miss them so much. I have such high hopes for their futures and I know that each of them has the potential to achieve anything that they put their minds to.

On the last day of school I showed my students a clip from "The Buried Life" (included below) and I asked my kids to come up with their own list of things they wanted to accomplish in their lives. It was the perfect send off, and I loved hearing the goals of each students. I was pleasantly surprised with the depth and creativity in their responses.

Leaving my first position was one of the most difficult things I had to do.... maybe that is why this blog entry isn't coming out quite as smoothly or eloquently as I had hoped. I'm still processing through all the bittersweet emotions of that day, as well as re-hydrating from all that crying.

Really the title of this entry/cheesy song lyric sums everything up pretty well... I am sad to be leaving my students, coworkers, and friends that supported me, listened to me, and taught me so much about who I am and who I want to become. I am also so excited to start the next stage of my teaching career at KHS (I'm not going to actually tell you the name of my new school just in case any of you are creeps). I have already received warm welcomes from so many of my new coworkers and the curriculum outline already has my creative juices flowing!

This new beginning at KHS is going to be fantastic I know, but it has had to come through the end of another great beginning....

I may have overreached on the poetic wording of that last bit, but I'm trying to stretch my artistic limits... even though I'm an English teacher writing has never been the strongest skill in my repertoire....

In Which I Explain Myself:

Hi.

My name is Megan Scapin, but if you read my profile thing you probably already know that.

I am a recent graduate of St. Norbert College (Class of 2013) and have just finished my first year as a full grown adult person. I was lucky enough to find a full time job as a 7th grade Language Arts Teacher, which allowed me to move into my own apartment, have my own insurance, pay my own bills, and basically enter real life.

I have decided to keep this blog for a couple of reasons...

1. During my senior year I was able to spend about 2 months abroad teaching in St. Lucia. While I was in the Caribbean I kept a blog and I really loved it. It was a great way to reflect and share my experiences, whether people actually read them or not.                                                                                  
2. I have family and friends spread throughout the United States, and even the world... and I am supremely awful at keeping in touch through phone calls, emails, and especially text messages. This seemed like a solid alternative to feeling awful every time I leave a voicemail in my mailbox and still forget to call someone back.                                                                                      
3. Hopefully writing on a regular basis will help to improve my writing skills. Since I no longer have 10 page papers I'm scrambling to finish the night before they're due I need someway to continue to grow and develop the skill I'm supposed to be teaching my students.                               
4. This will definitely be an entertaining thing to look back on in years to come. Almost like a mini, digital time capsule, capturing my voice, opinions, and daily musings as a 23 year old.          
5. Maybe this can serve as a source of inspiration, encouragement, or just humor for others out in the world trying to find themselves and survive real life. 

I make no guarantees about what this blog might contain on any given day... I am assuming that you can ancipate almost anything from funny teacher stories, to the struggles of being a 20 something, to different crafty projects.

If you choose to continue reading thanks! It's sure to be an interesting ride.