Home Sweet Small Town Home

(Bear with me while I try to find time to make this blog "a little" prettier). I really just don't want to miss recording any moments of my adventures in a small town.

Let me give you some background on how I got to Fredonia, Kansas yesterday:

After graduating in May with my Masters in Secondary English Education, I was on a mission to find a teaching a job even if the job market was tight and looking grimmer and grimmer every day. I initially wanted to teach in the Kansas City Area and stay close to home, but after weeks of receiving no calls or even emails, I decided that my dream of becoming an English teacher was looking somewhat bleak. I decided to turn to areas outside of the KC Metro (St. Louis, Hutchinson, Whicita, and some more), and as soon as I did this I started to get interviews! My job search was starting to go somewhere at the beginning of June. Although none of the interviews turned into jobs, I was (1) starting to feel comfortable and (2) starting to really enjoy the idea of living in a small town away from city life, but was disappointed when the opportunity fell through.

As July approached, I really was coming up with a second plan. And just as I was doing this, a few more unsuccessful interviews (even in Kansas City) broke my heart. After this, I gave up. Two weeks into July, I had given up on a teaching job and looked into subbing. I was still frustrated every day with the new problems of receiving my MO teaching certificate in time to get my Kansas one. It was a constant struggle of stress (constant apologies go out to my parents who dealt with much of the wrath). Knowing in my heart that I wasn't happy with giving up, I really thought I had come to terms with not teaching in the Fall.

One random evening in July, I decided to check the Kansas Teaching Jobs website and saw a high school English job opening in Fredonia, KS. Where? Yay, that's right...I had no idea where it was either. At this point, I was a pro at turning in apps so I decided there was no loss in applying to this "small town I had never heard of." Learning from previous experiences, I did not get excited about this job opening or even visualize it. I just closed my computer and let it be.

Two days later, I received a call from the principal. The next day: a phone interview. Two days later: a visit to Fredonia High School. After that week, I really didn't think much about it (not that I didn't want to, but I had already made the mistake of getting my hopes up too much). Some other opportunities came up in Kansas City at that time too, but I really just did not think about any of them.

That Saturday night, I received a phone call from the principal offering me the job. I have no idea what I said or really what to say. I clearly had not been offered a job before. He understood I had an interview with a very desirable district in Kansas City on Monday so he gave me some time, which is good because I was so excited when he offered the job that I sounded idiotic.

Well, Monday came and went. The interview was great, but the time frame for such a larger district was not on my schedule. I accepted the Fredonia job with so much excitement! I had already spoke to a family about renting the house next to them and had already mentally prepared myself for the adventure and experience of a lifetime.

The next day came, and I was unfortunately given news that the interview from the larger district in KC was going to offer me a part-time job. Not exactly what I wanted, but a definite foot in the door. After my head swirled around about 500 times, I finally came to my senses and realized that I didn't want a part-time job or even any kind of job in a large district. What I wanted was a full-time job in a district that, as I quoted once I got hired, "I don't want to get lost in the sea of the bureaucracy." I really wanted a small community where I can become an enrich teacher and have some of the best experiences with flexible curriculum and amazing mentors ahead of me.

So here I am sitting on my new couches in my two bedroom house just waiting for the adventures and experiences that may not always be the most beautiful. Waiting to share them with whoever cares. And if no one does, I know I will in a few years!