Go back with me for a moment. All the way back to January 2020.
I had just finished my winter break and before we welcome back kids at the school, we had a Paid Development day. A day to get together with all the others in similar positions throughout the school district and enjoy the wisdom from a speaker. This PD was my very first training for this particular school district. The district I had barely just joined. It was all shiny and new. I had such a a muddle of thoughts and so much excitement to be a Special Education Paraeducator in the district i had spent the past 6 years working to be a part of.
For this PD, the speaker talked about a lot of different things. So many tools I could use for both me and my students. But, we also were challenged to imagine ourselves and what we wanted. Not just as paraeducators and school staff, but what we wanted for ourselves. Our hopes. Our dreams. Our goals. We were given the time to think and meditate on the thought, and then we were provided with paper. The speaker asked us to write it out. Take those goals that we had just meditated on and transfer them to the paper. A paper just for us. Something to remember what we were working and striving for. A way of claiming those goals.
I had since completely forgotten about my list, to be honest. Life took over. My jobs took over. That paper was folded up and set aside to be buried in the mess of every day. I moved on and focused on the events of the days at hand. That paper, just another memento from the multitude of trainings and seminars that I had attended. Insignificant and in the past.
And then I was packing, and moving, and naturally going through those once forgotten papers in the corner of the room. I sorted through the crumpled and torn papers, procrastinating and distracted from packing. Among the receipts and random recipes and notes I had written in passing here or there, was this piece of paper all folded up. My goals I had written about 12 months ago.
"Be a better para (comfortable in my decisions)
Publish a book *
I want to publish a book with my brother to be able to pass on to our children. I want to show my students that goal[s] are achievable and not silly no matter your post high school education. And to be able to add it to my resume of life achievement[s]. Turn it into an amazing career. "
I had no idea when I wrote the list what my year had in store. I didn't know that when I had written this list that I would achieve either goal. I Had no clue that I would see schools across the entire country close down and transition to distance learning over night and redefine the job I had barely just stepped into. But, the coolest part was that I had no idea that by the end of 2020 I would see my dream of becoming a published author along side my brother, as my cover designer, actually become a reality.