"Are you sure you can't stay?"

I honestly cannot believe I only have three days of school left. This past week was pretty wonderful. Everyday (except Monday, which was not awful, just not as good), was really wonderful; the kids were good, worked hard, and we had quite a few laughs. I know people rarely associate the classroom with laughing, but that is one of my favorite parts about teaching. My students are so hilarious! Whether they intend to or not, they make me laugh pretty much everyday. I love that I have been able to build a relationship with them where we able to joke and laugh together, but still learn. That is truly wonderful.

This week, we worked really hard on our final writing assignment. I asked them to write a story about where they saw themselves in five years: graduating high school, starting college, going in the military, their 18th birthday, or anything else. I liked giving them this assignment for a few different reasons. First, I really like hearing about what they want to do with their lives. True, at this point, their goals will probably change, but I like thinking about them growing up and being successful. I also assigned it to help motivate them. At this point in the year, attitudes are growing and motivation is waning (vocab word!). If they think about what they want to do in the future, it gives me a chance to think about some of the choices they are making now and realizing that they may not lead to the life they want. It also gives me the opportunity to talk about how their choices now, truly can affect their future. Plus, it is really funny/interesting to hear their perception of high school and college; it is very skewed, but I do not have to heart to tell them that.

On Thursday night, I went to go see the midnight release of Harry Potter with Katie. I knew there were two battles I had to face in making this decision. First, being able to stay awake that late to watch the movie in the first place. With my "grown up"/"teacher" sleeping schedule, it is pretty impossible for me to stay up until 3 am. However, thanks to pure excitement and schoolgirl fandom, it was pretty easy. Plus, it helped when (spoiler) Nagini came out of the giant hole in the floor, jumped at the screen with her mouth open, and made me (nearly) pee my pants. The second, and much more difficult battle, was teaching the next day on only three hours of sleep. Teaching really wipes me out most days (hence the early bed time) and I was not sure I was going to be coherent enough to teach. Thanks to my good friends coffee, Diet Dr. Pepper, and Coca-Cola, I managed to survive. I simply had really cute bags under my eyes and said a few silly/unintelligible things. It was completely worth it. If you haven't seen it already, go right now. Do not even finish reading this post. Or at least make plans to go see it.

But enough about Harry Potter (is it ever really enough?), I only have Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday left. Really, only Monday and Tuesday count because Wednesday we are having another Diggory day. Well, one of my classes might not earn it before then. They did not have as much fun this week because I had to be mean to them, but this not really the point. The point is, this is the end. I think it is finally hitting the kids, and me, that I am actually leaving. I tried not to mention it, but it kept coming up that I was leaving very soon. Every time, at least one student would say "Do you have to leave?" "Are you sure you can't stay?" "Can you come back for Disneyland or graduation?" or something along those lines. It simultaneously breaks and warms my heart to hear them say these things. Honestly, if I had the choice between going back to school and staying here, I do not know which I would pick. As much as I love and miss Cornell (not to mention my friends), I love teaching. Even when there are days when I hate my students and I would prefer to not wake up at 6 am and grading is not the most fun activity, I would not trade this for anything. Honestly, I complain just as much about Cornell and I think everyone knows how much I love my school. The same is true of teaching.