fired up.

Maybe it's just the fact that the new school year is quickly approaching.

Maybe it's all the office/school supply perusing I've been doing lately.

Maybe it's the fact that I am yet to see my tuition bill and purchase my textbooks for the term.

But whatever the reason, I'm feeling especially fired up about teaching lately.

I'm grateful for this season of excitement because only a few weeks ago I was questioning this career choice of mine. Wondering if this was what God really wanted me to pursue.

Mostly wondering (truth be told) if I'll be able to pass all the state teaching tests.

I'm still worrying praying over that one.

But instead of over-thinking the situation, I've decided to be excited.

Excited about cheesy class photos with my future students.

Excited about books. Purchasing classroom sets. Reading Amelia Bedelia and Charlotte's Web. Creating bulletin boards of our favorite reads.

Excited to have an excuse to wear cute flats and cardigans.

Excited to play four square, jump rope, and hopscotch at recess. Because you'd better believe I'm going to be that teacher.

Excited to decorate my classroom. And buy markers, crayons, and colored pencils. Crayola, you'd better watch out.

Excited that this will be my life someday. It'll be hard, that's for sure. It'll be full of tears of joy + anxiety + sadness (at the end of the year, especially!). But it'll be so, so good.

I've been thinking a lot lately as to what grade I want to teach. After reading this lovely lady's post on her daughter's first day of kindergarten, I'm feeling pulled in that direction (age/grade-wise).

If you didn't know by now, preschool has been my life for the past ten or so years. I've babysat, been a VBS counselor, volunteered at preschools, and most recently, will be interning in a preschool setting (so excited!!!).

I'm not yet sure if teaching preschool is what I want to do long-term, I know I'll always have a special place in my heart for kids that age. I love their honesty, their energy, their love for learning. I love their little voices, their imagination, and their desire to please.

And lately, I've been thinking that kindergarten seems like a good fit for me.

I want to help kids get over their fears of school. Help them learn to raise their hands and sit criss-cross-applesauce. Help them learn to make friends and keep them, too. I want to see them around school as they age and see them leave for middle school + beyond.

And while--as a new + young teacher, especially--the chances of me choosing what class I want to teach is unlikely, I'm hoping that kindergarten will be an opportunity for me someday.

I also hope that I'll be a cool teacher. A cool teacher who's really a child at heart.