End of Year Reflections - 10th --> 11th Year Teaching

Ugh. Feeling thankful asf right now. Reflecting at the end of my 10th -->11th year of teaching. 

Thankful to my Massey High whanau for supporting me in my first couple years teaching and being the beautiful role models I needed in my life. 

Thankful to the Heights whanau for your support, love and light in EVERYTHING that went on for me in those six years. You guys got me and knew my passions and what I wanted out of life. You guys agitated and inspired me to grow and aspire to achieve new challenges and experience heaps of different opportunities. You saw the darkness and the light and helped me navigate ♥️ even if at times it was via brute force and telling me to go home instead of staying at kura for aaaaaages 😂

Thankful to the OC whanau ♥️ for understanding the complex family dynamics and supporting me through these last three years. For encouraging me to give myself love and support and for reminding me to take a moment for myself, rather than putting all my energy into everyone and everything else. 

To my English Dept - whuuu -- you wahine are AMAZEBALLS. Love you all so much. I'm always so excited with all the ideas and planning and discussion we have. 2022 is going to be an awesome year. 

To all the colleagues and kaiako mates from across the country and around the world - THANKYOU ♥️ your aroha and support mean everything. Ngā mihi e te whanau ♥️

2021...

School tomorrow! First Teacher Only Day of the year. 

I am nervous, excited and worried. 

Nervous because I have my appointment with the psychiatrist tomorrow morning. 

Nervous because I'll be connecting with someone new and telling them my story. 

Nervous because what if I don't get the diagnosis I expect?

Excited because what If I DO get the diagnosis I expect?

Excited because I can see my colleagues again after a somewhat (never long enough!) holiday break. 

Excited because I can sit with my team and plan the year out more specifically. 

Excited because there are new people joining my team!

Worried about not completing tasks I'd aimed to do during the holiday break. 

Realistically - everything will work out as it should do tomorrow. I don't need to be worried. 

I spent the holiday break learning more about myself, grounding myself, removing and shifting trauma and restrictive memories/blocks from my psyche, building more confidence and self-love. 

Appreciating my journey, grateful to my younger self for being so resilient, thankful to those people who have been guiding me throughout my life and who continue to do so. 

Grateful that I have such incredible friends and whanau that support me - no matter what. 

Excited.... Because I think I'm right in my diagnosis.... 

But also -- what will it change? 

I will know a deeper layer to myself, give validation to my whanau who have the same symptoms and help lay a stronger pathway for myself to get more concrete (pun intended) coping strategies and techniques. 

Here's to 2021... Because anything has to be better than last year 🙌🏽💛 

Here's to 2021 -- the year I make my own dreams come true. 

Here's to 2021 -- where we see success, happiness and determination thrive in our community. 

Here's to 2021 -- positivity, acceptance and self-love 💛🙌🏽