This semester, I began my student teaching journey. This whole summer, I was a ball of anxiety, nervous about being in the classroom, and even considered just dropping out of my placement completely at one point. Luckily, I gave it a shot.
And I love it.
The night before my first day was probably the worst sleep I have ever gotten in my life. I closed my eyes, but did not completely lose consciousness once, just thinking about everything that could go wrong the next day. I cried, I panicked, I got stress migraines, it was bad.
Then, the next day my alarm went off at 4:45, I got out of bed and went to school, and had an amazing first day.
Middle school kids always get the worst reputation. People group them together as disrespectful, mean and unfocused. I found these kids to be the exact opposite. From day one, they were hilarious, caring, respectful and way more open minded than any adults that I know. They put pride and passion into everything they do, and they can bounce ideas off each other like nothing else. It was crazy to see how quickly I decided I would literally do anything to make these kids feel safe and loved.
Everyday since, these kids have helped me in cementing the fact that this is what I want to do. I may be exhausted and a little frustrated at times, but at the end of the day I love working with them more than anything else I have ever done.
I know I am extremely lucky to have this experience so far, as it is not the same for everyone. These kids quickly became so important to me, even when they guess that I am 35 years old (I let them believe it lol).
All this to say, if you are student teaching soon, take a breath, you will be just fine. You might be exhausted and nerves are okay, but I promise you, you are going to love it. Worst comes to worst, you just have to survive.