Goodbye?

So, as school years usually do, mine is coming to an end.
Except I just realized that. The last day of classes is tomorrow.


I'm still in Texas for 2 months, and I have been very focused on that- trying to stay present and not daydream too much about home. Somehow in my attempt to stay present, I lost sight of the fact that the school year is ending tomorrow and I have to say goodbye to my students. I was certainly excited to no longer have to plan lessons or grade papers (I'm drowning in a sea of research papers, help!), but not at all to leave my students.

It's been an emotional month, and saying goodbye to the kids is the cherry on top. I'm so incredibly proud of them and how much they've grown this year- in fact, I just burst into tears grading a research paper, because in the beginning of the year its author couldn't write a complete sentence... he wrote a four-page research paper and PASSED! His transformation is definitely one of the most dramatic that I've witnessed, but I'm proud of all of my students. Their final assignment for me is a reflective essay about their personal growth since the beginning of freshman year, and I can't wait to read them!

I've thought about writing my own essay that goes along with their prompt... I probably will. How have I changed this year? In about 1000 different ways, and I know more are coming! Look for my essay soon.

My freshmen from writing will be very hard to say goodbye to, but I'm dreading 4 PM today, because that's when the goodbyes really begin... my 8th period juniors. I have loved them since the very beginning (they're my favorite class... I'm not supposed to have favorites, but I do), and have really gotten to know them over the course of this year. I can't wait to see all the amazing things they do next year as seniors and where they will end up in college. Part of me wanted to stay here for another year, just to wait until they graduated, but I know that would lead me down a slippery slope... and besides, when I think about moving home, my "heart leaps up," as a character in a book I'm reading says.

I have always hated the end of the school year... in fact, I can only think of two that I was happy to be done with. My mom often tells the story of me sobbing in her arms the night before my last day of 3rd (and 4th... and 5th...) grade, when I told her that it was "just the best year ever" and I didn't want it to end.

I have always dealt well with change, huh?

So, here goes nothing. I still have no idea what I'm going to say to these kids who have absolutely taught me more this year than I could ever teach them. Hopefully I'll come up with something eloquent by the end of the day!