The Adventure Led Me Here

 If there was an award for packing skills, I wouldn’t place. In fact, I wouldn’t even be invited to the competition. It was a comical sight to watch me attempt to pack up my classroom at the end of this school year in preparation for moving to a different room in the building. My packing methods ranged from dumping out the contents of my desk onto the floor and sorting through it to dancing to musical theater soundtracks on a table while removing staples from the wall to wearing a tiara while scrubbing my whiteboards.                 It’s slightly sobering to see the entire year packed up, the memories, challenges, and joy tucked inside the tiny confines of cardboard boxes. My second year of teaching came to a close as I waved to the yellow school buses chugging kids home for the summer.               In many ways, switching grade levels felt like being a first year teacher all over again. Although I had more strategies than when I first started, there was lots to learn (inclu