Proud.

The year is winding down. It felt like the beginning of the year was flying by and then man the last 3 months felt like an eternity. 

This year was weird. It was an adventure. It was full of unknowns, new things, changing the way we look at education, the way we teach, the way the students learn. Some kids thrived. Some didn't. 

Personally, this school year was full of challenges. From learning how to teach 100% online, something that even I struggled with no matter how comfortable I am using technology. To trying to engage students and build relationships, again something that I put first in my teaching, but struggled with this year. To my personal health issues that began in January.

However, as I look back and there is one word that sticks out. Proud. 

I am proud of my students who overcame the challenges of learning from home, those who adapted to hybrid learning, those who were taking care of siblings or other children in the house while also trying to keep up their own education.

I am proud of my school and coworkers who came together to get through a challenging year. We shared resources and ideas to help us master virtual learning and then we making our school a fun and safe place to be once hybrid learning began.

But mostly I am proud of myself. I was diagnosed with breast cancer in January. Had surgery in February. Started chemotherapy in March. I started off with a positive mindset that I wanted to finish the year, but I also made sure to put my health first. I took off the days that I needed to take off, or days that I just didn't feel good. I fought to get my accommodations approved so that I could work from home. As much as I wanted to be in the school building, I knew that the safest place for me to be is at home.

I am proud of myself for putting ME first. I learned to say no. I learned to stand up for myself when I knew I couldn't handle something. I took a break from the "extra" stuff, like creating resources and blogging. I knew that I needed to focus on me and my students. 

I am proud of me for getting through this year. And I am proud of ALL the teachers out there that persevered through ALL of the challenges that this year threw at us. While I am excited to get back to normal next year, I think it is also important that we don't go back to the previous "normal". There are a lot of things that this year taught us about the education world and we as educators much make sure that we are ready to face even more challenges as we push forward.

I hope that you all are doing well!