Post #3: Slice of Life- Start of My Teaching Journey

 I had no idea the journey that I would begin when I woke up on Thursday, December 12, 2019. 

    One of my bilingual college professors, Dr. Y, had invited his entire EDBI 3387 class to the Bilingual/ESL Conference at Region 4 ESC. He had offered to pay the entire entry fee ($450) for all 6 of us. I was so excited to take part in this conference because it was my first official conference. In just 2 days I would walk the stage and graduate with my Bachelors of Science in Bilingual Elementary Education and Spanish. 

    I had not yet secured a job, but I was not too worried about it. I was offered a job in Alief ISD but I declined because I wanted to move back home to Conroe to be with my family for a couple of years. I had decided to become a substitute for Conroe ISD, just for the spring of 2020, since I was graduating in December. I felt that I just needed a break, but God had bigger and better plans for me. 

    I woke very early that Thursday morning, full of energy and excitement. I wasn't exactly sure what I would learn or do at the conference, but I had a feeling that it was going to be great. I wanted to arrive at the conference early, so I left about an hour before I needed to. To make sure I had the correct address, I copy and pasted the address my professor had emailed the whole class. I didn't want to google the building in fear of going to the wrong region-building. I felt that the best thing to do was just copy and paste it directly from Dr. Y's email. I got in my car and drove to the address that my GPS was taking me to. Once my GPS notified me that I had arrived, I looked around in a panic, there was no region 4 building in sight! I was surrounded by trees and a couple of small houses. I anxiously called my professor, he told me to check the address I had pasted into the GPS and read it back to him. I read the address and told him "I copy and pasted it from your email so I wouldn't get it wrong". He apologized and told me that he had forgotten to add the "NW" to the address he had emailed out to us. I quickly put the correct address into my GPS and saw that it was going to be another 1-hour drive! I didn't mind the drive but it did mean I was going to be late for the start of the conference. 

    I drove as fast and safe as I could through the Houston traffic. I checked in at the front desk and looked for my classmates and professor. Luckily, the keynote speaker was still presenting in the opening session. I took out my iPad to take a couple of notes. After the opening session ended, my professor apologized to me again and told me he wanted to introduce me to the bilingual director of Splendora ISD. Still embarrassed for arriving late, my face was burning red and I shook her hand. She then asked me if I could email her my resume because Dr. Y had talked about me to her before the conference. She offered me a PreKindergarten dual-language position. And so, my teaching journey began.