10 Life Lessons from 10 Years of Teaching

 

1st Day of the
2022-2023 school year!

It is difficult to explain how quickly and slowly a decade moves. When I first started teaching, I naïvely feared that the days would move slowly and I would be looking for things to do to fill down time. After a less than ideal first year of teaching (if you know, you know - if you don’t, I plan to write a book someday, so stay tuned for that thrilling chapter about how my career in education started), I truly questioned if I would reach the 10-year mark in education. 

Let me start by saying it takes a village to support a teacher, many pieces need to fall into place at the right time, and there needs to be a fair amount of growth, reflection, and grit along the way. I’m thankful to have sporadically maintained my blog from student-teaching in 2013 (yikes!) so I can look back and reflect over the past 10 years - and what a journey it has been.  

Here are my top 10 lessons along with some powerful quotes about life I’ve garnered through the first decade in my #TeachAg journey. 

Teaching a fetal pig
dissection

1. Surround yourself with positive people – “If you are going to reach your potential, surround yourself with eagles. People who will push you forward, make you a better person, and help you soar.” ~Author unknown

2. Redefine Success – Success is not what you accomplish in life. It’s about what you inspire others to do. It is easy to become caught up in accolades, awards, and titles. Look deeper and get caught up in how you have touched others’ lives. “The real success is growing your positive influence and making those around you feel valued and empowered.” ~Mike Azzalina

3. Find your Tribe – As much as you believe you can make it on your own, you will eventually realize that you need to lean on others sooner rather than later. Take time to build and maintain relationships in your life with God, family, and friends. It’s a lonely journey to try and tackle the world on your own.

Annual selfie at the National FFA
Convention

4. Know your Why – When passion meets purpose, it is a powerful thing. On tough days, you will most likely ask yourself “why”. Why do you spend time doing the little things that no one will see? What motivates you to get out of bed in the morning? If you aren’t committed to a cause, then you need to find your passion and make it your purpose. 

5. Value Your Time – Just because you can do everything doesn’t mean you should do everything. Burnout is a real thing and if you’ve flirted on the edge of burnout, you know it is a scary tipping point unless you can recognize the warning signs.

Alpaca Shearing with
Lightning Jack

6. Work Hard & Stay Humble – A strong work ethic will carry you far in all facets of life. You may not always be the smartest person in the room, but there is no excuse not to be the hardest worker. “If you want to look good in front of thousands, you have to outwork thousands in front of nobody.” ~Damian Lillard

Peru 2022

7. Choose Happiness – Life is too short to not enjoy the company of others, a once-in-a-lifetime experience, or the chance to make a positive impact in the world. Don’t wait until it’s too late to find what makes you happy. “It's not that life has been easy, perfect, or exactly as expected. I just choose to be happy and grateful no matter how it all turns out.” ~Albert Einstein

8. Travel adds value to  your life – Gaining a new view of the world is critical to develop empathy for others. “Why do you go away? So that you can come back. So that you can see the place you came from with new eyes and extra colors. And the people there see you differently, too. Coming back to where you started is not the same as never leaving.” ~Unknown

Teaching a dissection to teachers
during a virtual CASE Institute

9. Savor the Small Wins – There will be some days, weeks, and months that become challenging. Find a way to remember and celebrate the small victories each day. Human nature is to talk about the negative things that we encounter, so change the narrative and push yourself to remember the positive attributes of your day.

10. Take Time to Reflect – We can learn so much from ourselves if we take the time to slow down, look back, and learn from our experiences. Learning to take 10 minutes to write down my thoughts has helped to bring a sense of calm to an otherwise chaotic day.

If I had to use a word to describe Year #10, it would be "extremes." The good days were extremely good, but the challenging days/weeks were extremely difficult. Full disclosure, I had started looking at jobs outside of education for a few weeks in February questioning if I wanted to continue teaching. The people I surrounded myself with over the past few months have taught me some valuable lessons and pushed me to reflect deeply. I've found what it means to be genuinely happy in all facets of my life while still pursuing goals that challenge me. Creating new daily routines for self-reflection and prayer have helped me to become more centered and productive with my time. I'm starting the summer with a clear mind and renewed spirit - ready to enjoy the small victories and live each experience to the fullest as I prepare for year #11.  

Cheers, 

~Darla

Last day of year #10!