I survived.

So, my first week of teaching is over, and I lived to tell about it. In all honesty, I don’t even feel like I’ve only been there a week. I really feel like I’m in the swing of things and that I just fit naturally into the position with the students and my coworkers.

My students are actually so well-behaved, it scares me. There have been moments when I’ve literally stopped what I was doing to look around the room and ask myself “Why are they so quiet? Why is no one screaming? Why hasn’t anyone bitten me today?” Not that I had negative expectations for my students by any means, but my other classroom experiences have just been so strikingly different that I was trying to be realistic.

Which brings me to my next point of interest, I love high school.

I love it. I just do. Being there for a week has made me realize how ridiculously unsuited I am for teaching elementary students like I originally planned. I love teaching teenagers. They’re so freakin’ hilarious, and I would much rather deal with teenage attitude/moodiness than temper tantrums from the littles.

All in all, I don’t think I could have asked for a better first week. And it was certainly better than what I was concerned may happen, which was more along the lines of bursting into tears around lunch time on the first day, running away, and never coming back. (I may have been slightly overdramatic.) But still, I kept waiting for something to fall apart. Or for me to fall apart. Or for the school to fall apart with my mere presence there. Fortunately, that never happened. (Although I did get a stern call from the scary attendance lady for forgetting to do attendance on the first day. I’m certainly never going to make that mistake again.)

I’m not saying this year won’t be challenging, and I know there will be plenty of days where I feel like I can’t do anything right. But even though I’m only a week in, I know this is exactly where I need to be. Which is ironic, because on paper, this job is almost the exact opposite of what I originally wanted. Life sure is funny, isn’t it?

Most importantly though, this week has reminded me why I wanted to go into the field that I am in. Quick story time: For those that wouldn’t know, my classroom is new, which means that for the first time ever, my students get to switch classes between myself and the other self-contained teacher for different subjects throughout the day. At the end of the first day, one of my students told me that it was going to be the best school year ever, because he got to “switch classes just like everyone else.” And that is why I am there. To help give my amazing, unique, hilarious, and all-around awesome students the education they need and deserve.

Well folks, that’s all for now. Now, let’s see how well my first real person paycheck is going to fare with this holiday weekend.  I’ve got some crazy plans for that money. And by crazy plans, I mean I’m going to invest in some good quality chocolate for the secret stash I’ve been yearning for in my desk.