It was two summers ago when I was driving on the freeway, southbound, heading home to Springville. I still remember how the sun was shining and that it was a gorgeous day. I don't about you, but it is only on those special occasions where I get revelation that tells me EXACTLY what I need to do. Many times I feel like decisions are just left up to me. Which is kind of nice in a lot of ways. :)
Anyhow, as I was driving I had this RANDOM, can I emphasize that word enough? RANDOM thought come to my mind. The exact questions was "What if you went back to school... for Elementary Ed.?" Uh.....SAY WHAT?!?!?!?! It came so quickly and I got this strange happy/excited feeling coming into my chest. I responded to this little question in my head: "Well, I hadn't really ever thought about that." But this REALLY felt right. It was almost more poignant than any other prompting I had ever received in my life.
I immediately called my best friend who is one of my most amazing confidants. She answered and the first thing I said was "What if I went back to school for Elementary Ed.?" She paused and then said something like "I was just thinking about you being a teacher this week. DO IT." We both just started laughing. It seemed so crazy! I had thought about grad school but definitely not for a degree in education. I had started out majoring in Elementary Ed. my first semester and then switched to Deaf Studies. I had just graduated in 2010 and to go back to UVU for a second B.A. in what I originally started out with seemed mind boggling.
I called my parents. When I told them both what had happened and that I was thinking of following through with the prompting they were both SO incredibly supportive. They didn't even question it. Thanks Mom and Dad. ;)
That week I found myself sitting in front of a counselor at the Education Building at UVU. He told me I was pretty much set to go with the exception of my exceptional students class and two of the most dreaded classes EVER: Math for Elementary Education Majors I and II. I still get a little shudder inside of me when I mention it. YUCK! Fortunately because I started out majoring in Elementary Ed. and I already had a B.A. all of the other classes were taken care of. I was on my way!
I got through the most awful class I have ever taken in the Fall of 2012. I passed with just a few points to spare on the final. Then I passed the second math class last summer. There were so many nights and days in both classes where my stress level was so high that I thought I was just going to roll over and die right then and there. But somehow Heavenly Father helped me to make it through and pass the classes that I never thought I could. I will always be grateful for that.
I went into the group interview to see if I was "suitable" for the program and that went well. I got word that I had been accepted into the program and that I would start Spring 2013. It has been so much more vigorous than I expected. I always have homework assignments and projects to be working on. There have been days when I think that I am not cut out for the program because of the loads of stress that it so willingly supplies. My attempts to balance school and two jobs have been like walking on a tight wire carrying 50 pounds of sugar on my left hand, 30 pounds on my right, and a bowl of hot chicken noodle soup on my head.
Boy has it been a journey! But on those nights when I think that I can't take it anymore, when I am physically, mentally, and emotionally exhausted from a long day and I have two assignments due the next day, I am lifted up by the people around me. I am reminded of how my Mom is praying for me everyday, I remember my Dad and his supportive nature and his words of encouragement, I picture my brother Mike smiling at me and saying "You can do it Meg!", and my Maddy texting me and saying "Hey Meg! Just wanted to say hi and see how you are doing!" Then my roommate and best friend come up and gives me a hug and I lose it. I cry my eyes out and she says "It's okay Meg. Let's see what I can do to help you."
During those hard times I cannot forget what got me here in the first place. It was a prompting. "What if you went back to school?" The thought didn't come with a warning that it would guzzle up the majority of my time and energy, cause more stress than I could imagine, and be incredibly hard. But what I do know is that it was not my own thought. It was from God and I am where He needs me to be. I can be a great teacher even if I feel that I am not good enough. I'm not sure why He wanted me to go back to school to be in this program. Maybe to meet the amazing people that I get to interact with on an every day basis, maybe it's to make me stronger mentally and emotionally, maybe for my own future children, or maybe it's to help the one student that only I can reach. I'm not sure. But I am grateful and I will keep trusting and holding His hand every step of the way.
--Megan
Video Clip of the Day: http://www.lds.org/pages/mormon-messages?lang=eng#patterns-of-light-discerning-light
My El. Ed. Cohort (Dec 2013)
Thanks to these amazing people and every single other person who has helped me keep going in my program and made a difference in my life!!! Thank you, THANK YOU!!!!!
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