Getting Worse to Get Better

They say you just have to make it through your first year. Make it through your first year, and things will be immensely better. I'm sure this earnest bit of advice is typically true. That is, of course, assuming your first year of teaching isn't impacted by a global pandemic.

To be completely honest, I probably needed to be humbled. Yes, I was one of the last ones leaving the school each day, and yes, I was spending hours at home contacting parents, planning lessons, and absorbing way too much teacher content on social media. I found far too much relatability in those "Sunday Scaries" posts on Instagram. But I was really doing it. My students were thriving, we had finally nailed down a routine (which had been successfully rebuilt after its Christmas break-induced demise), and I had a classroom management system that was working.

When the world shut down, I did what we all did: adapted to working remotely during unprecedented and frightening times, made better only due to the 24/7 pajamas and working with a cat in my lap. Fortunately, I had a leg up on some of my coworkers when it came to teaching remotely. My status as a zillennial (the micro-generation comprised of Gen Z and millennial cuspers) granted me the substantial privilege of growing up with computers, and technology being heavily integrated to my learning.

For what felt like the first time, I got to be the team member that was leaned on. I was recording interactive read alouds, developing interactive digital lessons, and adjusting our curriculum with each new message from admin. My grade level team used these resources to provide our second grade students with the absolute best remote learning possible.

If we fast forward two school years, I was now at a different school in our district, closer to home. Something about my tumultuous entrance into the profession and the impact COVID-19 had on students fundamentally changed how I viewed my future as a teacher.

A job posting on Disney Careers led me to where I am today. I applied on a whim, certain I wanted to make a change, yet unsure what that change needed to be. I had plenty of friends in college who participated in the Disney College Program, something I'd never considered doing. There was no way I would delay my graduation by going off track, straying from the plan. Stray I did, though, as I resigned from my job and moved to Orlando, with my husband and three pets in tow.

I strayed from my initial path and found it to be the best decision of my life. Immersed in graduate school, I poured my heart into my studies, now close to completing a MS in Business Analytics. Along the way, I honed critical thinking, problem-solving, data analysis, visualization, and IT skills. These newfound abilities have made me more capable and confident. As I look ahead to a new beginning, I feel a mix of excitement and trepidation about entering the professional world. My aspirations may lead me down a different path than expected.

During the recent months, I have dedicated myself to absorbing as much knowledge as possible about instructional design. When I first stumbled upon a TikTok creator that makes content surrounding her life as an instructional designer, I was instantly drawn to it. I realized that during my transition out of teaching, I had actually read a lot about the profession. Hundreds of teachers have made the jump to the career. It started to occur to me that maybe I could do the same.

I've been busy learning new programs and theories. Absorbed in learning as much as I can, I was reminded of my love for learning. I will never, ever lose that passion. My fuel is helping empower others through knowledge. Through my rocky entrance into the big, scary adult world, I learned a lot about myself. I've changed and I've grown.

There was a time when I felt ashamed to have strayed from the path I had envisioned for myself. Here I stand today, confident that I am headed where my plan was pointing to all along. I had to get worse in order to get better.