First First Day of Teaching

The school year is in full swing now. My schedule is, on paper, pretty decent this year. I am going to stay optimistic that the year will at least be decent (I’m working on reframing how I see things). But every first day of the school year, I think about my first first day ever as a teacher. I had spent my entire life to that point swearing that I would never become a teacher. That is until I hit late graduate school. Approaching graduationMy mentor professor is one of the few men I’ve known who I still hold in high regard. He was an important male role model for me in the aftermath of my father's death. He pushed me to do my first ever lecture, and gave me some great advice on how to speak and carry myself. I had left those times commanding his class with a sense of pride. I could be a professor, maybe, and lecture. However, as my graduation approached at the end of the fall semester, I began to scramble. I was now in my mid-20s. I had been living a life dependent on those around me…