Onward, March
As the road goes on, we must decide whether it is best to accept it or decline it.
Driving home, I suddenly realized my life would drastically change from college student to post-full-time student. No, I had not graduated yet. No, I did not leave a life of academics behind because of smarts. But, it was time for student teaching. The two years of shock and wonder was now at my doorstep. I had everything packed and ready to leave Sydow House, the place I stayed at for merely four months. My body told myself it was time to press on; my heart told me never let go.
Emotionally, it is was tough for me to picture myself no longer an on-campus student. I was only 23 and had only been going on to my 10th semester of college. For all I knew, college lasted 300 semesters and never got old. I was never the kid who wanted out of Spring Arbor because there were not enough “challenges.” I loved my job as a student because it was comfortable and easy to be one. As a student, I could hang out with the people I liked; I was not forced to eat my small lunch with people I never talked to before. I could be late for class and no one would care, and when my roommate asked me if I wanted to go to Denny’s, I would hop up and go without considering the workload I had the next day. I was a college student at Spring Arbor University, and learning could last my entire life if I wanted it to.
Then the day came. I got placed in an elementary school and would begin on schedule. For those who do not know, “placed” means I had been noticed by a teacher and asked to be a student teacher in their classroom. To me, this meant a required semester of waking up at 6am five times a week, dressing professionally, and abandoning my friends to educate 5th graders. While all of the drastic changes were good for my professional life, it was still tough to leave the wonderful world of Spring Arbor for it.
Although the change has been rough, I am thankful for the opportunity to be student teaching at a time I expected to be. I still miss being an on-campus student, but I also recognize the timing of my situation and could not ask f0r better. Sometimes I imagine having my placement getting postponed and I shudder thinking about it. All of the hard work has paid off, and to miss my deadline for student teaching would only signify that I did not accomplish what I had originally set out to do: prepare to be an effective teacher. I am now in my last stage as a college student preparing to go out as a potential teaching candidate, and while it is scary, it is my last stop in my college journey.
I am still young and enthusiastic, my mind is still in college student mode, and I still treat 5th graders as if they are my friends. I still have many things to learn about the education field, and I am sure there will be things I will learn the hard way and the easy way. However, there is no better time than to start now.
Start writing your life today,
Josh
