One of my favorite song lyrics of all times is the line from the Semisonic song “Closing Time”, and it goes “Every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end.” It is actually a quote from Lucius Seneca, and it alludes to the sad feeling that comes over you, even as you take your first exciting steps towards a new beginning. It means that something else that you’ve put your heart and soul into is ending. It’s over. It’s the end.
Friday marks my last day at Tatem Elementary school. It is the end of one of my new beginnings. It was a fantastic new beginning for me just a few short years ago. As I embarked in a new direction, and decided to pursue the dream of being a teacher that I had as a little girl, Tatem was my beginning. They gave me the most amazing mentor teacher in Cathy Schilling when I was a student teacher. Then they took a chance on me and gave me the opportunity to work with the students. All things considered, it has been one of the best experiences in my life.
My time at Tatem has not been without tears, both good and bad. Teaching is way harder than they tell you in school. From the tears that rolled down my cheeks when one of my students wrote our principal a letter of recommendation for me to the ones that came because I felt like I couldn’t do enough, every day was filled with challenges. Above all, some of the best people I think I will ever know in my life are Tatem people. I am fortunate to be surrounded by educators who, even on days where they may not love their jobs, love their students. They allow me to watch them at the art of educating young minds, and I continue to learn from them.
I am facing another new beginning, on the heels of this beginning’s end. My life needs me more than I think even I realized until recently. But I am taking away volumes of knowledge, a lifetime of memories, and, I hope, forever friends.
Every new beginning…I can’t wait to see what the next chapter brings.