I've been home for one week now, and have had a great week! I've seen a ton of friends, been cooked for way more than I deserve, and played with my friends' kids a ton. What a great week! I've informed my friends that I almost missed their kids more than I missed them. Tuesday night was story time with my friends' little girl who just jumped the whole time because she was so excited (not because of the story, just because). Wednesday I swung by another friends' place and played with his kids and let them download a light saber app on my phone so they could play with that also. And yesterday my church threw a party for me and there were a ton of kids who wanted to be chased around the house which I was happy to oblige them for. Until we all realized Debbie's house isn't exactly kid proof. I don't know what it is about kids, I've always had a passion for them. They're usually so happy and don't have a care in the world. Kids live fully in the moment of wherever they are. "Chase me Mr. Justin!" and off they run. I love it! One of the best part about my friends' kids is that when they're not happy and all grumpy and crying because they didn't take a nap, I can just pass them off to my friends. Maybe someday I'll have my own, but for now I'm perfectly content to pass them off to my friends and to teach.
Teaching will start again in August, and I'm kind of excited about it. My emotions on this subject have changed completely over the course of my time off. At the beginning I was thinking I wanted to do anything else, but now I'm ready to try again. The last couple years were really difficult, but it was mainly due to my depression more than anything else. My depression effected my job performance, which is something I need to learn how to manage for future episodes if there are any. Hopefully I will get something in grades 3-5 although my principal said I'll probably have to do K-2 this year due to space. Maybe that won't be such a bad thing. I wouldn't have to worry about FCAT so it would be a lot less pressure. They still have standardized tests in those grades, but your school funding isn't based on the results so there's not as much pressure. There would still be some pressure to be sure as there always is with teaching or any other job for that matter, but FCAT's produce a whole new level of stress in my opinion. Of course, 20 or so 5 year olds isn't exactly my idea of a good time either. With teaching you have an opportunity to impact the future. That's one of the main reasons I went into teaching. I want to guide students into being agents of change in the world for the betterment of humanity. Maybe that sounds too esoteric but I truly believe that. Adults are already set in their ways and many times unteachable. A kid though is impressionable, which can be a good or bad thing depending on who's doing the impressing. Also, as a side note, I want to make a photo book about my trip and run it past a publisher to see if it has a chance at being published. Wouldn't that be cool?!
Coming home has been really good. The first few days especially it hit me bit by bit that I was home. If it happened all at once it would've been overwhelming so I'm attributing that to God's grace, the fact that it's come little by little. My friends always say I knock on America, which I do my fair share to be sure; but I do have to give us credit for one thing. When I first got home; I didn't have a phone, my luggage was lost, and my car didn't start. Within 24 hours all those things were fixed thankfully. As mentioned before, it has been so wonderful to see old friends. I told my pastor yesterday at my homecoming party that there was one point when I was sitting by the pool that I wanted to close my eyes and just have it stay that way. It was this sense of, "This is where I belong" that swept over me. I don't know that I've ever felt that way, maybe that's what a round the world trip does for you, shows you where you're the most comfortable and where you feel like you fit.
My next job will be just that, to get a job. I'm going to need something to do during the days or nights just to pass the time. The problem is that I'm used to being paid fairly well and will have a hard time settling for anything less. I've already talked to a coworker who's in charge of the tutoring after school program at my school to try and sub for tutoring as much as possible. I've also considered making flyers with my information on them to offer private tutoring sessions in home for an affordable rate. I need to do something; I just made a budget online and saw just how much it's going to take to live off of and it will require some type of income to be sure. Thankfully, I'm getting a rather large tax refund (at least for me, it's still less than $1,000 but is pretty close to that figure) and my old roommate from Australia told me he was going to pay me the rest of the deposit that I put down for an apartment while I was over there. I give God the glory for those two things. His Word proved true, where He says to test Him in the area of giving I did that and He has proved faithful. He doesn't always provide that blessing in terms of finances but sometimes He does and it is a welcomed relief when that happens.
Things have been going really well lately, and I feel very blessed to have been given the chance to travel around the world and to come home to people who love me. On Wednesday I go up to Chicago to see family and friends and can't wait till I go up there. It will be so good to see everyone; in particular my grandma whose husband passed away this past October or November when I was gone. I've been trying to call her and keep her updated but it does the soul good to see someone face to face.
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