What a Teacher is thankful for...

Reflecting on my eight years of teaching, I'm so thankful for many things. 

I'm thankful for growing up and living in a beautiful beach community nested in South Orange County. I'm thankful for my amazing and supportive parents who have answered every frantic phone call, have pushed me when I didn't think I could go anymore, and have volunteered in every classroom I've taught.

But let's be honest, there are a lot of things about teaching that aren't always great.  So I'm going to take just a few of them and turn them around into something positive.  Ready, set, go!

• I'm thankful for being laid-off as a tenured teacher in 2009 because it allowed me to live out my dream and teach amazing first graders on O'ahu.

• I'm thankful for working in a stressful environment at a high-performing Title I school because it gave me the opportunity to be an expert in PLC, RtI, data, and so much more {before it became trendy}.
• I'm thankful for having to struggle after I was laid off because it pushed me out of my comfort zone.  I was able to interview with leading RtI consulting company, I expanded my tutoring business from one child to nine, and I found Teachers Pay Teachers.
• I'm thankful for being out of copy paper  because it means I've done a pretty darn good job supplementing materials for the Common Core.
• I'm thankful for being so sick this year and having a crummy immune system because at least I have a classroom to be in.
• I'm thankful for those little buggers in my class who make me want to pull my hair out because I've got the privilege to teach them to make better choices and be good citizens {I hope}!
• I'm thankful for staff meetings because it gives me the opportunity to see other staff members who I don't normally get to interact with.
• I'm thankful for how unprepared California is when transitioning to the Common Core because it has forced me to get creative and create my own on TPT.  
• I'm thankful for the lack of Professional Development because I've created my own using my Teacher facebook and Instagram.  I'm so thankful for that.

• I'm thankful for a 100 supply budget for the entire year because it's forced me to get creative.  I'm honestly loving whiteboards this year for everything!
• I'm thankful for my hour to hour and a half commute to work {each way} because once again, I'm thankful to have a job in an amazing district with amazing staff.
• I'm thankful I lack sleep the last few months since I've utilized social media for teaching, because I've discovered so many amazing teachers, ideas, and resources.
• I'm thankful for not knowing where or what I'll be teaching next school year because it leaves opportunities open to grow and develop.

Like anything, there's good and bad and it all depends on how you look at it.  Teaching has been my dream since I was little and I wouldn't give it up for anything.  With all the yucky stuff that comes with teaching, there is so much good.  Like this awesome giveaway I'm hosting.  It ends Saturday night over here with 26 other bloggers.

Now you're turn, turn one bad aspect and turn it into something good in the comment section below!