Doing a Double Take - Feels Like I Need to Explain...

Sometimes someone says something and it stays with you. Nagging. Bothering you and you just aren't sure why.

This happened to me this week. Someone I respect inquired about my new position and how I liked my new school. I was honest and said I loved it! Her response is what threw me. She said she knew I was happier because I was tweeting more. 

I am not sure that is accurate. I am tweeting more. I have more time. I am not on any after school committees. I have collaborative during the workday rather than after. More of my time is mine to focus on what I am teaching and how I can help others. When I sit down at lunch or at the end of the day I remember to tweet the photos I took rather than working until I go to bed (by choice usually) I have an hour or two to do something else. 

I loved my class at my former school. I loved my job. I do not love this new job anymore or any less, just in a very different way. I think the difference really comes down to the fact that I was at the same site for 9 years and that was the longest I had ever been at a site (we had pink slips and movement during the first part of my career), or in a classroom. 

Earlier in the week, someone else had said that she "knew [I] always wanted to be at [new site]". This bothered me too. 

I did not spend the last 9 years bemoaning my situation, sad that I wasn't at another site. I was happy working there but I needed a change more than I realized. That is not to say I wasn't happy where I was, I am just happier now. 

When looking back over the last 9 years the majority of them had some major negative, heart-breaking events happen each year. My mom was sick, I had miscarriages, I found out I wasn't going to be able to have a family, and then my mom died. Tragedy after tragedy. So much heartbreak. 

So changing schools is not just a return to a site I was once at, or a new opportunity (though it is that too). It is a fresh start. My classroom has no memories of tears associated with it. No fears of bad news. No awful events. I think that makes a huge difference. One I didn't realize was an issue, at least until it wasn't. 

So, yes, I am happier where I am now, but it has way more to do with me than with anything work-related. 

Have you ever had to reexamine something about your job after someone made a seemingly innocuous remark? Tell me about it in the comments below, I would love to hear about how it affected you.