We're In the Money

Today I receieved the good news that I was awarded a generous financial aid offer for the upcoming year! HOORAY!!! This means that I won't have to stress out so much over the how of paying for my last year of undergraduate!

It also means that I will, once again be indebted to the Uncle Sam since half of my financial aid offer came in the form of Stafford Loans. I'm actually fortunate to be offered Stafford Loans, because within five years after I graduate the government will "forgive" my loan if I meet certain requirements. Since I paid off the loans I acquired during the first half of my college education during my four-year hiatus, I will not have a massive amount of debt when I graduate. In addition to the Stafford Loans just awarded, I'd taken out a Wells Fargo Collegiate Loan last year that may qualify "reimbursement" since a recent bill (LB547) was approved by the Nebraska Legislature this spring.

Even though I won't be getting paid what I'm worth as a teacher, especially if I work in Nebraska (NOTE: the average teacher salary in Nebraska is ranked 45th in the nation), there is consolation in the fact that I will be getting some assistance from Uncle Sam so I can spend my hard earned money on necessary school supplies for my students instead of loan repayments.

Leaving, On a Jet Plane...

Today I said goodbye to a dear friend who is relocating over 400 miles away (to Scottsbluff, Nebraska) after accepting a teaching/coaching position. She is one of the more fortunate recent college graduates to actually have a job within six months after graduating. An article earlier this year reported that the unemployment rate for college grads had doubled within the last year, with almost 2 million college graduates still unemployed!

We've worked together over the last 4 years at an after-school program for high-risk youth and, naturally, grown close. We've grown together, and our shared experiences have helped us develop into the teachers we will become. It is quite sad to see her go, but she heard opportunity knocking and answered the door, let him in, poured him a drink, and invited him for dinner. I'm proud of her for taking a positive risk and relocating so many miles away. I wonder, if faced with the same opportunity after I graduate, will I be willing to take a risk?

Looking Forward, Looking Back

I've decided to reconnect with the blogosphere and begin chronicling the last leg of my undergraduate experience as a pre-service teacher.

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Over the last few weeks, my thoughts have been increasingly reflective in nature, focused on the busy year ahead--my last semester of undergraduate classes this fall, my impending student teaching in the spring, and my last "free" summer before I begin my first year of teaching. I have a very demanding semester beginning in less than 4 weeks (18 hours including a practicum and 8 classes). I will then make a transition from Lincoln, where I have lived for the last 8 years, to Omaha to student teach and begin my professional career. In May I will FINALLY graduate from college in May, and then I have to make some "big girl" decisions. I guess I'll be making "big girl" decisions all year. Should I stay in Omaha to teach? What districts should I apply to work at? Should I apply for Teach for America? Should I begin a master's program so I can increase my income bracket? And the questions go on and on and on....

Life is chock-full of decisions. Looking back, I've been independently making (good and bad) decisions that majorly impact my life since I graduated from high school back in... well, a while ago. This year is no different. I wouldn't be where I am or who I am without all of the good and bad decisions I've made. I feel that the decisions that I will be making soon will have a more immediate impact on my life. Things are moving a lot faster than I remember them moving over the last 8 years. I didn't think I'd be in a position to have accomplished so many of my life goals. I feel like my young adulthood is shedding and I'm officially entering into adulthood.

There's no turning back. Am I ready? Heck no. Am I up to the challenge? YES! There really is no telling what this year will bring. The one thing I can be sure of is that things will work out, but probably not in the way I expected them to. I am hopeful and excited about what the future will bring, but I'm not going to put too much stock into sticking closely to my plans since things will often be outside of my control. I will try not to spend too much time looking back into the past, or forward into the unknown, but I will try to live each moment as it comes.

Bring it on.