In it to WIN it!!

My life in North Mississippi has been wonderful so far. I love this area and the people. I would love to stay in this area for a while. At my school there is a first year teacher who is going through everything I went through last year. It is so hard to see her struggle. I see myself a lot I her. The last week for her has been hell. She has cried everyday. Crying because she is coaching her first year, because she feels unappreciated, and because she feels she has no control of her class and no administrative support. She is crying for all the reasons I cried last year. Everyday I try to give her advice about how to improve classroom management and what to do about coaching and other issues; after all I just went through that last year. But no matter what I tell her, she is the only one who can change her situation. The first year of teaching is all about seeing what works best for you in your classroom. It is about trial and error. It is almost like you are supposed to fail. But you have to get up and keep going. You have to try new things. You have to take and use advice from others. I remember last year people tried to give me advice, but all I thought was that they do not know what I am going through. But I have realized that no matter what school district you are in your first year, teaching is really, really hard. You can only make it easier on yourself. It is important to stay positive and to try new things. My heart really aches for her. She is having such a hard time. But it is up to her to change that. Sometimes we have to become different people to survive, which in my opinion is fine, as long as you don’t lose sight of who you truly are. I know that my senior year of college basketball, I had to become an assertive, outspoken leader. For me being assertive and outspoken are the hardest things to be, but I had to change for myself, the