Today was the first day of school! I know, there are some grumbly people out there about the first day of school but this school counselor loves the first day and new beginnings of a school year. I love seeing the smiling faces of all the kiddos that proclaim that they are soooo happy to see me and give me big hugs. I love the newness of all of their clothes, backpacks, shoes, and most of their attitudes (haha). It was a great first day overall just a little hectic, but that is to be expected with about 50 more children in the building.
This morning was a fresh start for me. Fourth year and I feel like an old hat at this, but I still love the newness of the job regardless of the year. I woke up at 5:36am to be exact (I am a little strange and I like odd wake up times for some reason.) I hopped out of bed…not really but I peeled myself out of bed and got dressed to go on a run. By 5:50am I was running down State St. using my phone for light when needed. I ran a faster than usual pace which I can only assume is because I often looked behind me just in case…I don’t really care for the dark but it is part of summer fading sadly. I got back with time to spare actually and did some stretching and a few burpees. Got my shower, blow dried my hair and straightened it, got ready the rest of the way and I was out the door a little after 7:30am. I had time to spare and even stopped for a morning Cold Brew to start it off right.
The day quite frankly was a whirlwind but it was a welcome whirlwind. I have quite a bit of new names to learn so I will be getting right on that within the next week or so because I do pride myself on knowing all of my kiddos names…all 461 this year give and take a few. I still trip up here and there but it is always my mission to know their names so they know that they are special to me. I will start doing my intro to the school counselor lessons here soon and I will work on getting to know them that way too.
As I sit here tonight posting this I think about how truly blessed I am to work in an environment that allows me to truly love the work that I do every day. The good definitely outweighs the bad for sure and there is nothing more in this world that I love than seeing a kiddo succeed and value themselves. The small things really count to me and I appreciate them even more in the work that I do. Not every child has the same loving upbringing that I did, but at least I can show them that at school.
I am hopeful about this year. Every year I get a little apprehensive about the year just because it is new and there are always so many new issues that could arise, but I look at it from a rose-colored perspective and take on the challenges that I face from day to day. No day is a like in a school environment which is what I really love about it. I can’t wait to see what the 17-18 school year has in store for me. 1 down, 178 to go!