D.C. Sunsets

I have mixed feelings about sunsets. They are breathtakingly beautiful, and I usually feel relaxed and peaceful when I look at the clouds streaked with the lingering fire of the sun. But at the same time I find them just a little bit wistful. They are inevitably followed by the end of another day, and that day, no matter how wonderful it was, can never be relived. (Well, unless you are Phil Conners...)

I have two days left of school teaching in DC. Two days! And a week or so after that I will be officially graduated - an event that my parents had nearly stopped hoping for - and ready to start being what I want to be "when I grow up." The sobering reality of life after graduation has settled on me these last few weeks as it became increasingly likely that I actually would pass my student teaching, and I keep having to remind myself that life does indeed go on. I won't miss the papers, the deadlines, the lesson plans, or the early mornings. But I will miss the joyful noise, the exaggerated stories, and even the poor grammar of my students. I won't miss school bathrooms or school lunches. But I will miss school.

My plans for the future are excitingly vague at present. I am applying to teach in a couple of districts, including...here in DC! (I thought long and hard about it, and everywhere else sounded relatively boring by comparison, haha.) I am also considering pursuing my life-long dreams of being a cocktail pianist on a cruise ship, teaching English in Korea, and getting a job as a flight attendant, but I don't know that any of those would be quite as fulfilling as the dream I have lived for the last 16 weeks. There is just something about changing people's lives that changes your own...

The sun is setting on my DC adventure, and while I am looking forward to home and sleep (literally), it will be fun to see what exciting opportunities come with the next dawn! Whoever says life is boring hasn't lived it. ;)