It's been roughly 8 months since I accepted a job at my alma mater as the high school principal and the time leading up to this point has taken me through all the "feels." I have been excited, exhausted, frustrated, elated, nervous, anxious, fearful, and probably everything else in between. For the most part, however, I have had this overwhelming feeling of excitement about the new beginning. It is stronger than the typical beginning of the school year vibes that I always get because this is home and it means so much to me. The anticipation is killing me.
The first day of school is a big deal for students and parents, but what may go unnoticed is how big of a deal it is for staff who work in schools. While we are doing our best to make sure that the school is welcoming to our returning students, we sometimes put our own excitement and anxiousness in the backseat so we can be there for our kids. I would challenge everyone to let these emotions ride shotgun as we start this school year so we can model to our students that just because you get older, it doesn't mean that the jitters go away. Maybe, just maybe, if we show a little vulnerability to our students, they may be able to connect with us better. That is the funny thing about vulnerability. It makes you relatable and I would contend that we need to be relatable to kids even more now than ever. School and life are already tough enough the way it is. At least make an effort to show your kids that they don't have to go through those feelings alone. You never know what kind of impact it might have on them.
So here I am finishing up my first blog of the new school year and wondering if my words are even going to make a dent with anyone. I will second guess myself and edit this post in my head a million times because I want it to hit just right. I will continue to anticipate the first day of school for all the students and staff that will walk through the door in a few days, but I will also embrace my own feelings about the new school year and be open and honest with myself and others about what I am experiencing without bottling it up and pretending that the feelings don't exist or don't matter. They do matter and I am not going to minimize these feelings. The anticipation is killing me, but I love it!
#OwnYourEpic #Connect
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