Positive Songs For Positive Times: Celebrate

Snapshots aside, I've been absent from this blog for some time. Most of you will have guessed the reasons for that... I've made no secret of the fact that the past couple of years have been very difficult in my current job. And the last couple of months have been the worst.

Except for one thing.

I had a job interview a few weeks back. I have to admit, I felt it was a bit of a long shot as although I was right for many aspects of the job spec, there were certain things they were looking for that I couldn't quite evidence. Mostly due to the fact that I've always taught in college, never in a mainstream school. But it was too good an opportunity, so I fought for it.

Opening myself up to this opportunity was a huge risk. Not only because I had to balance all the extra work of applications and interviews at the busiest time in my current job... but also because, if I took the risk, got my hopes up, then failed, I worried it would crush me. 

Even when I got the job, I was scared to talk about it. Worried something would go wrong and the lifeline would be taken away from me. (For example, I needed a new DBS check... I knew I hadn't committed any crimes since the last one... but what if they found something I wasn't even aware of. Like I'd been robbing banks in my sleep or something?) Part of me still worries about that, and will keep worrying all the way till November, when the new job starts. But yesterday I handed in my notice - first time I've ever done that in my life - so it feels official now.

What is my new job? Well, I'll still be teaching, but no longer in an FE College environment. But I won't be teaching in a school either. Instead, I'll be teaching in a hospital for young people who have been taken out of mainstream schooling to receive treatment for mental health needs. It'll just be teaching - none of the managerial stuff that has contributed to my skyrocketing stress levels over the last two years. Proper teacher pay, holidays and benefits, but a much smaller scale operation than the one I've been drowning in, and none of the bullshit. It all seems too good to be true: one more reason I've been scared to write about it here. 

But it feels, at last, like it might be time to celebrate...