First Real Day

Yesterday was my first of work. After the karaoke contest, I was a bit hung-over, but I had to drag myself out of bed nonetheless. The day was designed for teachers who were new to the district and because our school is brand new, we had the largest contingent in attendance. Initially, I was a bit scared when the big-haired, heavily make-upped facilitators held microphones and spoke in such a way that they came across as evangelists (one admitted to be proud of her Baptist affiliation).

Midday, we were made to watch a half hour video on blood borne pathogens. It was ridiculous and you would believe the various ways students found to hurt themselves and gush blood. (Embarrassingly, one person stapled eir hand, and I felt compelled to admit that that's happened to me before.) While watching the video, never have a group of people made so many snippy, sarcastic comments. As I soon discovered, my coworkers are some great people. They are young, funny, and friendly. My specific administrators are down-to-earth, enthusiastic, and humorous. Because it's a new staff, everyone is eager to meet one another and be supportive. I realize that this environment is perfect for me to start out as an educator and make new friends. Rather than me being the only person thrown into a new situation, all of us are being thrown into this new situation together.

My career as a teacher just became all the more real, and I couldn't be happier.