After College: What a Shock

Student teaching is finished and my undergraduate career is complete.  Four and a half years ago I thought this day would never come!  I've been done with college for over a month now and it is still difficult trying to adjust to the "real" world.  Timing couldn't have been better though, especially with finding a job... Even if that job has absolutely nothing to do with your degree, but more about that later.

The last semester of college during student teaching was an up hill battle.  The first half of the semester was very rocky, both emotionally and physically.  I enjoyed my first placement and the learning curve it offered but constantly struggled with never feeling "good-enough", or feeling as if I'd never be a good teacher.  The last few weeks of that placement I had just about gave up on my dreams...as if I was at the breaking point.  It was also physically tiring because of the long commute to and from the schools, and then add the long days/rehearsals (leave for student teaching at 6 AM, arrive at home around 7 PM); by the time I would get home I was ready for bed.

The second half of the semester was much better in both areas.  I was at an elementary school and the days were considerably shorter.  The teacher I was with was very welcoming, kind, considerate, and loving.  I never realized how much I would enjoy teaching in a K-5 setting, but after that experience I know that is where God is calling me.  The commute was still the same but I was able to get home by 4 PM everyday.  I learned so much about how to effectively run and manage a classroom setting, teach music in various ways while implementing strategies to reach different learning domains, and most of all learning how to exemplify my own teaching skills and strategies into the classroom.

Commencement arrived way too fast and the degree I had been working towards was finally handed over (well at least a paper stating I would get the degree in the mail in eight weeks or so).  I was so eager to finally be done with classes and start living life as a "normal" married person without college stress.  But what I didn't realize is how difficult it would be to transition into the "real" world.  I have been struggling a lot with finding friends, finding a church to plant my roots, my spiritual life, finding routine, etc...

God answered my prayers in giving me the opportunity to get a job right out of college!  That job being a Program Assistant at the Early Learning Center in town, which is the fancy term for being a teacher's assistant at a preschool.  Going into this job I thought, "preschool...this should be simple; not much different than kindergarten, right?"  Wrong!  Preschool is a whole new world compared to the K-12 school setting, and it has definitely been a learning experience for me.  I have the opportunity to learn something new each day about early childhood education, which has opened my eyes to how much work goes into the education of three through five year olds.  It is surprising to find out how smart young children are!

College held so many great experiences and I wouldn't change any of those experiences for anything.  This new chapter in life has been fun so far, but the transition has been rough.  I'm hoping to get plugged into a church somewhere, start playing set in a worship setting again, build my faith, and to get used to this post-college life soon!

Was transitioning into life after college this difficult for you?  What are some of the difficulties you found that followed after graduation?