Transition and Growing Up

Thanksgiving Break has given me a lot more free time to think as well as to write. Two days ago I as traveled home from Fresno, I met up with a long time friend of mine that I met when I did FUI (Fresno Urban Internship) about four and a half years ago. Our lives had both drastically changed since we met. She is married with a kid on the way, I have graduated, moved out, and had a full time job.

There was a moment when we were talking when I felt so glad to be blessed by her friendship. We were talking about growing up and what life was like after college. It was great to hear her admit that when she first finished college the transition was exceptionally hard. We agreed that it was one of the worst transition periods we ever faced. No matter what we thought was so tough and challenging in high school or college it was easy compared to the transition of growing into a "real adult."

It makes sense. After spending almost 18 years of my life with the identity of a student, suddenly that has been taken away. In college you actually have very little responsibility too. When you don't do a paper or an assignment, it rarely impacts someone else (expect in the case of the group project). If you make a mistake it is usually just on you. But in the real world when you don't do your work - it impacts EVERYONE around you. Especially as a teacher. If I don't plan well, then all my students suffer. And if they don't test well, then my school suffers. It is a lot of pressure and responsibility.

It was encouraging to know that this transition period was not limited to being hard for just teachers or even just me. I knew this somewhere in my brain that everyone goes through rough transition periods (especially after finishing college) but it was comforting to hear the stories of others. So today I am thankful for the stories of others.