This last class by far has been the toughest for me during my journey. I learned more about myself these last 5 months and my feelings toward the field of education. This program has taught me 3 things;

1. Always start with a goal and then build upon it. Having a goal makes any challenge achievable and in the end rewarding.
2. The field of education varies so much from state to state in resources. Through the discussions and/or blogs I am able to learn about how other educational systems work. This in turn has helped me to appreciate the amount of resources I have in my state and use them more.
3. Before you can fully be ready to meet the needs of children and families you must have a self-care checklist for yourself. Take a minute to focus on yourself first to ensure you are able to handle the additional emotional load. I put others first in my personal and work life and it took the pandemic to realize how much I neglected my own self care.

My long term goal is to set boundaries with myself and how invested I become in the field of education. I love to help people but need to practice self reflecting more before I take on too much without having a mental break.

This program has allowed me to grow in the field of education that I know will benefit me greatly. I want to thank professor Darragh-Ernst and your kind words of encouragement and support during this class. To my colleagues I wish you all the best during these unexpected times due to COVID. If your centers are closed like mine I hope that there are opportunities available in the meantime. We have completed another step to better ourselves in the field of education. It was great taking this class with you all and I wish you nothing but success in the future.