Marriage, new job, moving across state lines.
Yeah, it’s all going to change by the end of this
year.
 |
| me right before watching seniors graduate! |
Easy place to start is getting married. Been
living alone for quite a few years... I'm pretty good at it. Decorating
my apartment the way I want, eating whatever I want, the quiet... It’s nice
that there’s not constantly a TV running (I grew up with my grandparents, and
they neverEVER turned off the tube).
My current job as artistic director of a performing arts high school is all about serving everyone constantly. I’m always helping teachers, staff, always working to make students’ visions for art come to life. I love it, but it can be draining.
I guess that’s why I love the quiet so much. I barely ever listen to the radio when I’m in my car (people think I’m weird, but I just need the mental clarity time). Coming back to a quiet home has helped me. It’s like meditation.
All this to say, I’m going to have to learn how to not live alone again. My fiancée lives with like 3-4 people depending on the day. She never eats dinner alone, always spending time with family. I’m very much the opposite. It will take me some mental adjustment.
So, Cari lives in a different state than me... which is why I’m moving.
I’m moving back home to Southern Illinois, finally. Been awhile. I’m looking
forward to it. St. Louis is busy,
busy. Lots of road rage there... The very first day I
moved to STL, my Internet installer ran into my apartment and slammed the
door.... Some random guy had attacked him with a coat hanger. I called the
cops, and he had been trying to attack cars.
Southern Illinois is more my speed. It’s a mix of suburbs
and cornfields, shopping malls and cows. When I drive through Illinois, I
always forget how peaceful it is. There’s good and bad in every community, but
the spacing is bigger in the ‘burbs+rural, so you just don’t see it as often. Plus,
it’s home.
Third big change is my new job. Yes, I’m leaving
my position as artistic director. I'll be teaching high school
English. Technically, that’s always been my background, so I’m looking forward
to using my degree as I originally planned.
Starting as Technical Director and then getting
promoted to Artistic Director was a great ride. I’ve learned so much, so many
new skills, met so many interesting people. I had a lot of fun! It was the most
work I’ve ever had to do at a job, but some days were just the best.
I think it will be interesting to go from being the department chair of the
fine arts department to the new guy, low on the totem pole. I’m looking
forward to worrying about my own classroom and not everyone else’s, but there
will be many things I miss. I wrote my students a letter of farewell, and so
many of them have come up and wished me well (or tell me they are mad at me for leaving J).
It’s bittersweet.
But, starting lots of new things is pretty much my
theme in 2022.
No comments:
Post a Comment