From the Buckeye State to the Bay Area

Well... after months of stress, big decisions, and figuring things out, I can finally say that I am officially California bound.

I am so excited to have accepted a job in the Bay Area! I will be teaching 3rd grade next year and working at an independent school focusing on social-emotional learning, processing skills, and behavior management. I am very eager (and nervous!) for this new opportunity.

My new school will definitely be very different from the public school setting I am so used to, but I am ready for a new challenge and the growth that awaits me.

This decision is nothing if not bittersweet. I have found a school that I absolutely love and will miss in East Franklin. My 2nd graders were the best group of students I could have imagined having for my 1st year of teaching. The staff at my school is INCREDIBLE, and I am beyond sad that I won't have the chance to continue to work with and learn from those amazing educators. I have also made a lot of supportive friends that I am so sad to leave.

This decision wasn't an easy one to come to, but it feels like what's right and what's next. Kurt accepted a job earlier in the year at Google. He will be relocating to the Bay Area in July. Moving together was something we had talked (and talked and talked) about, but I knew that unless I found a job I was genuinely excited about in California it would be almost impossible for me to leave my job now.

Accepting this new position felt like everything fell into place and made me feel assured that this was the right decision for me.

Kurt and I are excited to settle into the area, explore what California has to offer, and start a new chapter in our lives.

It's not going to be easy leaving my family (or my friends, that have become like family). I've never lived so far from home before, and Columbus has truly become my second home. It's going to be surreal living thousands of miles away from the only state I've known. Regardless, I'm excited for what's to come.

I know that this is going to be a year of change and growth, but I am feeling ready to try and jump right in.