Wednesday, May 28, 2014

So...What Is Next?

I wake up and begin my day. 8:00 comes along and I hit the snooze button. 8:09 comes and I hit the button again. 8:18 I turn over, shut my phone alarm off and jump on my phone for 12 minutes. What happened in the news while I was sleeping? Did anyone tweet something good? Anyone post a cool picture? Half awake I hear my coffee is starting to brew and I know that I better jump in the shower. Music blasting to wake me up, I get ready for the day ahead.

9:00 I arrive at Harvest Grill and pick up the bagged lunches for the day. They have to be in Minneapolis by 10:00 so I head towards the cities. I arrive at the Government building and am let in by the security guard. I set the lunches up and leave around 12:00. My morning job is over for the day and I head back to Rogers. 

I have been a college graduate for 10 days now and people have been asking what I plan on doing this summer besides the job I just explained. The morning job is quick and easy and now that my foot is healed, I can work at Broadway again, which will be nice. 

Last week a friend of mine was texting me and we were going back and forth about what we were doing this summer and then he sent me a text that caught my eye and made me ponder for a second. 

So... What is next? 

As of last Tuesday I had no idea. I had an interview on Thursday and I was going to go from there. I had applied at various schools but no one was getting back to me. Was my Resume not good enough? Maybe my grades? I kept filling out applications and checking school websites until I saw that Rogers Middle School was hiring. What better way to start my teaching career then at a school that I attended? Finally an interview! 

Last Thursday I walked into RMS dressed up and nervous as could be. I check in and take a seat while I wait for my interview. While I am waiting I talk to Carol Gelle, say hi to Debbie Beach, and talk to Connie Ranallo. I smile at a few other familiar faces and finally am ushered into the interview room. I am shaking at this point and shake the Principal's hand. There is another Social Studies teacher in the room as well to see how the interview goes. 

In front of me are ten questions. They cover many things that would make a great teaching candidate. I scan the list as the first question is read to me. 

"Speak Jared," I think to myself as I can feel my hands shaking. Finally words come out of my mouth, and to the surprise of very few of you, my mouth doesn't stop moving. I talk about my student teaching experience, my classes at CSBSJU, and most importantly, my passion for teaching. The interview flies by and ends before I know it. I glance at the clock in the room and realize my 45 minute interview is almost over. I couldn't believe it. 

As the Principal lead me out of the room and down the hall, we talked about the upcoming Memorial Day weekend and what plans each of us had. He told me that he would be calling me by next Wednesday to let me know if he wanted me in for another interview. I thanked him and walked out the door and headed to Coon Rapids to weigh in for the week.

On my way to Coon Rapids I am listening to my Fantasy Baseball podcast ( I am a nerd, I know), when my phone rings. The phone number is 241- **** which from my Mom being in the school district I know is from Elk River and most likely the Principal. My heart starts racing... this can't be good, calling me already? I answer the phone with a quick Hello and wait for what awaited me on the other side of the line. 

It was the Principal. Keep your cool Jared, keep your eyes on the road. I exit in Coon Rapids and pull over, I don't want to miss anything. The interview had concluded 15 minutes ago and I never would have expected a phone call this quick, good or bad, this phone call was important. 

Finally after what felt like forever I hear it. "Jared, we would like to offer you the position." 4 days after I graduate and 4 years of college, 13 years of grade school, and countless sleepless nights are lifted from my shoulders. I couldn't accept the job quick enough. I didn't know what to do. Scream for happiness? Cry? Celebrate? The phone call ends and much like an hour ago when I entered the school, I was again shaking, but now for much different reasons. I have a job, I have a job!

This blog is the first time that I am telling 90% of you about my job. I purposely haven't told many people because I wanted to let it all sink in first. If you knew about the job before this blog, consider yourself pretty important in my life :) 

So a few more details about the job: The job is currently not full-time and I will be teaching two classes that will be my own classes. Much of the job is up in the air currently until this school year ends but I should know many more details in the upcoming weeks. 

The important part is that starting with the 2014-2015 school year, I will be an 8th Grade Social Studies teacher at Rogers Middle School. No one can know how excited I am to begin my teaching career at a school that I attended and a school as great as Rogers Middle School. 

To close, I just want to thank all of you. Many of you have helped me on this journey and will be with me as one road ends and another road begins! I didn't really want to write about me for this long but many people have been asking me about what I am planning next year and I just wanted to get the news out as efficiently as possible to everyone. 

Also, if you haven't noticed yet, my blog has a new name and a new layout. I have added a few things and am always looking to make it better. If you have any ideas or comments on the new layout, please comment below or comment on my Facebook status. Or else tweet your response to me @Jared_Hines27, which is usually the best way to get a hold of me. 

I hope you all have a wonderful Wednesday and a great rest of your week. I am attending the Twins game tonight with Scotty and as of now it looks like a beautiful night to take in a baseball game. Let's hope the weather tonight is great! 

Hopefully now that Summer is here I will be able to blog more but we will see what happens!

Until next time,

-J-