New adventures of crazy Ms Allyson, coming to a school year near you

I tossed and turned last night, apprehensive about what needs to be done today, worried about how I am going to do it. Today, I head to Allentown to clean out the personal belongings in what has been my work home since the 2007/2008 school year. For the past six years, I taught some of the toughest kids in many of the local school districts in the Lehigh Valley. It was a daily journey of 50+ miles round trip, placing a lot of wear and tear on my vehicle. I've been asking for a transfer closer to where I live since I was hired by the CLIU21 and quite surprisingly, this year that transfer is happening. 

When the 2013/2014 school year begins, I will be welcoming students from the Carbon County area at our sister school in the next town over. I am very nervous and apprehensive now that the opportunity presented itself to me. I'm not one to fully appreciate change until I know it is working, but really, who welcomes change of this magnitude 100% anyway? In a way, I am saddened that I will no longer be able to work side by side with some of the best emotional support educators in the field. While I am excited to be working with new people, for the past six years I knew just what I was walking into each day from day one of the school year. I am also terribly saddened that I was not able to say goodbye to some of the most challenging, yet amazing students that I grew to love dearly, many of whom were so excited to finally be in Ms Allyson's homeroom this year.

Walking out of our little building on the East Side of Allentown today will bring a mix of emotions I am not sure I am ready to face. I feel as though my work there is done. I've reached students who others claimed were unreadable. I've brought the joy of reading into the lives of young people who never picked up a book before. And in giving them the tools necessary for success, they have given me a more thankful heart.

I will miss the day to day crazy shenanigans at work, the awesome co-workers I call my friends, the tough as nails students who really have soft hearts and just want to be cared about but I realize I am on a new journey in my career. I realize that a new bunch of students needs me. I realize that I truly do touch the future and make a difference. As hard as this will be, I must look at it as a positive growing experience and tackle it as I do most everything else anymore, with a positive attitude. 

And now, I am off to make a large cup of coffee, grab a box of tissues, and make my way to close up shop. Make YOUR day the best you can and always realize you are making a difference in someone else's life simply by being in it!