Trying New Things

So far in 2018 I have been trying to try more things. I am a person who likes routine and likes feeling in control. One of my biggest fears is the fear of the unknown combined with the fear of being alone. This means that it is a lot easier for me to take on a new activity if I have a friend in my corner who is doing it with me. Even though this helps me there are a lot of times I still get very nervous and worried trying new things that I am unfamiliar with. Now I 100% agree that trying new things adds value to your life and bring you to some of the most beautiful things, so that is why I have been working on this.

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For me one of the biggest ways that help in trying new things is saying a simple three letter word, YES! A lot of times when people ask me if I want to do something especially if I am not super close to that person my instinct is to say no or to make up an excuse that I am busy. I have worked really hard to not let myself do that. I will say yes and then I will stick to it. Now I am not saying that I am saying yes to crazy intense things like sky diving or something crazy. I am saying yes to doing activities that may not be my favorite or to trying a new workout class. Now to you these things may not be crazy, but to me this is putting myself outside of my comfort zone and helping me try new things.

The last point I need to make is about assuming about people's personalities. Let's say you saw me walking down the street with my best friend or family. You would see a person who is loud, laughing, may be doing silly things that make me look foolish, and has a huge smile. You may think oh my she is so outgoing and does not care what people think about her. In that case you would be right, I am with my people who know me, love me, don't judge me. I have my support system. Now you could see the same me on the same day walking somewhere by myself. You will see someone who is quiet and almost looks like they want to blend me. I do not want to draw attention to myself and be judged. While I am the same person with the same likes and dislikes, my personality flourishes once I am either comfortable with the situation I am in or the people I am with.

The last paragraph may seem random, but for me I know this about my personality and know I need to force myself to try new things because once I do and am comfortable I will love it and my personality will show.

Challenge yourself to try one new thing! Even if it is just saying yes to a new friend (or if you are me trying something you may love all by yourself!)

Life Plan???

I am a planner. Anyone who knows me knows that I like having details down and know what is happening. I am trying to get better with this in my personal life. I am trying to be better at going with the flow (although I do not think I will ever be like that fully). I like planning and do not mind if other people think it is crazy. I thought it would be fun to sit down and think about where I would like my life to be in 1, 5, and 10 years. Now I 100% know that God has a plan for my life and that is how my life is going to flow. But this could allow you to get a glimpse into my life and see how my mind works. Plus it could be fun to revisit this post and laugh at myself when I got none of these things correct.

1 year

In one year I will be 24 years old. I will have just finished my second year of teaching. I would hope that by this point I would have achieved my fitness goals (more of these will come in another post). I want to run a 5K in this next year, so hopefully I will be done with that or at least signed up. I hope I keep finding things that I enjoy doing where I live. I will also be preparing to head on a road trip to stand next to my best friend when she marries the love of her life. 

5 year
In five years I will be 28 years old which is completely crazy to me. I could have also finished my sixth year of teaching. I would hope that by this point I would be in a serious relationship with someone. I would want to be living in a house even if I am just renting it. Hopefully I will also have a pet of some kind. I would be half way done saving for mine and Karlee's trip to London. Hopefully by this point I will have a solid group of friends where I am living. 

10 year

In ten years I will be 33 years old. That seems crazy to me. I still sometimes feel like I am 16 years old even though I am currently 23. In ten years I would hope that I would be married with at least one baby (if not two) and another baby on the way. I would hope my husband and I have figured out where we want to raise our family and that we have create a good support system where ever we are. Hopefully there would be some plans for all of my cousins to get together. By this point my youngest cousin would be 22, so there will definitely have to be more planning in getting together with everyone. 

So these would be my general plans. I do not know if any of this will happen. Or maybe things will happen way quicker than I think, you never know. I know that no matter what God has incredible plans for me and I will be working on sharing the love of God with the people I am in contact with. 

Year One

I am sitting down to write this five hours after school finished on the last day! I cannot believe school is already over and the year is done. It feels like not very long ago I was starting high school, going to junior prom, headed off to college, or beginning student teaching. Now I have finished my time with students for my first year.

I think that my first class will also hold a special spot in my heart. In some ways they got the best me and I am sure in other ways they got the worst me. They got the excited me who was so ready to have my own room and my own students. They got the me who was excited to set things up and try things. They also got the me who had very little experience. They got the me who was trying to plan everything for the first time. They got the me who did not have a second activity to try because I have never tried any of these.

I learned so much this year and grew as a teacher. I had so many fun moments, laughs, and even tears. I learned more about myself and why God brought me to do this. As I said my final goodbye to my students I began to cry. My students then began to cry and as weird as it sounds that is when I realized the impact I had on my students this year. They were crying because they were going to miss me. What they do not realize is that no matter how much they miss me, I will miss them just as much. I cannot wait to see what these little ones go out in the world and do. I pray they whatever they go out and do they remember that Jesus loves them and know that I am always there for them.

Now it is time to enjoy summer and begin to think about my new group of students next year (it is crazy to think I am planning for my second class already).