Another journey is about to begin...

On Monday I start my new job. I'm very excited about it (and a bit nervous), but also sad about leaving the school I've worked at for the past 4 years.

The last couple of days have really opened my eyes to how much input I have had in this school. I know that I'm a good teacher and I work hard to develop relationships, but I've always just sort of cruised along, not really thinking I was that special (actually, that's a teeny lie, there have been times when I have done awesome things and felt like I deserved recognition). Some of it is my low self-esteem, but I feel funny when I'm blowing my own trumpet or drawing too much attention to myself.

It's different when I am running an assembly or speaking to the school community though. I'm quite confident then, and take great pleasure in hamming it up. The kids generally love it too. But when it comes to receiving compliments etc, I find it quite tricky. I like it, but I get a bit awkward about receiving and responding to so much positive communication!

And over the last few days, that seems to be the main thing that's happening. The staff keep telling me how much they'll miss me, parents are stopping me in the playground and telling me that I'll 'leave a big hole' in the school, and the kids are inundating me with everything from lovely handmade cards to presents to big hugs and lovely, kind words.

There's something nice about this 'outpouring'. It's a real ego boost and I really think it is going to help me in this self-improvement journey that I'm on.

Which is going pretty well, by the way. Since I started this health kick 9 weeks ago, I've lost almost 10 kilos, but it's more than that. On the health front, my skin and my hair feels great, I've got more energy, I am not having cravings for junky stuff. I'm actually enjoying exercise again, and feel sad when I can't get to my Zumba class!

I'm changing some of my other probably unhealthy habits too. I've been taking more care of my skin and hands, getting more sleep, keeping things a bit more organised and tidy, and doing more stuff just for me. This new job is going to take me in a new direction and I'm happy about that too. I'm even starting to get back a little of my creativity - the photos and (hopefully) the blog.

Sometimes I worry that I might be changing too much, especially for the people around me (that really seem to be standing still sometimes), and I guess that's something I'll have to tackle, but at the moment it's not a huge problem.

So tomorrow's my last day at school. I've got a feeling that it's going to be a nice day, surrounded by some really great people. I'll let you know how it goes.