A teacher through and through

Recently, a good friend of mine has been struggling with knowing what she wants to do with her life. This morning after reading her blog, I thought I would share my own story. 

Ever since I can remember, I've wanted to be a teacher. That was what I always played with my sister growing up, that was my first job (part time) and continues to be my full time job. Growing up, I was the girl who never had any doubts about her career path. I had it all planned: finish school, go straight into a teaching degree, finish my degree and get a job in a good school. But even the most certain of people have doubts. Whether they choose to acknowledge them or not is a different story. 

Throughout high school I never questioned being a teacher. By 14 I was a music teacher, both privately and at the music school I ended up managing throughout my uni degree. Though looking back, I didn't ever allow myself to doubt my decisions in high school. I insisted on being a PE teacher, and thought I'd just tack English onto the side because I had to have a second teaching area. It's quite ironic that I currently teach only English and absolutely love it! As I progressed through my degree I distinctly remember weeks where I wondered what the hell I was doing. Did I really want to be a teacher? Was I really patient enough to put up with teenagers? Was I teaching the right subjects? Then there were pracs where I felt so out of my depth that I thought there was no way I was meant to be a teacher. Even now, as a qualified and working teacher, I have weeks where I feel like I'm not the right person to be a teacher. Lucky for me, I have a very supportive husband, best friend, and family, who all remind me I'm being ridiculous. Whilst that's amazing, sometimes you just need to realise things for yourself. I needed to know it for myself. Each time I doubted what I was doing something amazing happened within my teaching. Recently, I had a year 9 student give their first ever speech! They had always been too afraid, but this time, they felt like they could not only give the speech in front of me, but the entire class! It's those moments that remind me why I want to teach, and how much I love it. 

Anyone can get through a teaching degree, but not everyone is made to be a teacher. Like a lot of other jobs, you see and hear about a number of awful life situations. You see teenagers doing things they shouldn't even know exist. You're daily dealing with problems, teaching them how to respect themselves (as well as others) and helping them survive a world that is not easy. It takes a lot of passion, to care about so many people that much! At times it's overwhelming because you don't feel like you can help students enough. It is a job that you have to take home, and it's not just the marking or planning. But for me, this is what makes it perfect, because the flip side of it is seeing students achieve, seeing them with confidence, listening to their funny stories. I love that I get to come home and tell my husband about all the funny, crappy, weird and amazing things my students do. I love that my days are trying to help people, not students, just people who need help whether they realise it or not. I love that I get to spend my days figuring out how these people tick.

Although my friend realised teaching wasn't for her, don't think that's the right choice for everyone just because of a little doubt. She didn't just decide over night, it wasn't a decision made lightly. Every teacher will tell you they doubt their career choice at some point or another. Sometimes you just need time to think about it properly, or take some time away from it. For me, I will always be a teacher deep down. Choosing to pursue that is what I have to decide, but I know that when I need to make that decision, I will know.

Photographer

After reading through my wedding blog (which I should have proofread at the time), I realised I mentioned our photographer, but for anyone reading who wants to know where our photos came from, I forgot to mention her company! So here is a little post for that. If you need portrait, wedding, cake smash or really any kind of photography, hit up Ashleigh Sheridan Photography! To give you a little insight as to what she's like, here is a picture from our wedding photobooth. Jossy actually went to high school with Ashleigh, and ironically two other bridal party members randomly knew her too. We had such a great time with her, and couldn't help getting a quick photobooth snap. Ashleigh's the one in the front row, without a bridal party outfit haha! She's quirky, enthusiastic, and full of crazy photo ideas! She'll make your event just that much more entertaining if you invite her along, and her photography is brilliant. Couldn't have asked for a better photographer!

Sunset

Sunset has always been my favourite time of day. Something about being able to pause at the end of the day and take a few breaths is comforting. The best part about sunset is that it is different every day, and oh so stunning! Lucky for us, Bundy has some amazing skies!

These guys

You're probably going to see a number of posts about these guys, because quite frankly, they're awesome! As I've mentioned before, Sam and Nathan are our closest friends. This year we got to spend New Years Eve with them, and what a night it was! We were moving to Bundy a couple of days after so this was our last chance to really spend time together. 

Our original plan had been to go camping however due to weather, we decided to stay in. At the start of the night I wondered if we'd run out of things to talk about. Before long I realised that was a ridiculous thought, it would be impossible to run out of things to say with these guys! We talked, laughed, had a bit of 'sentimental crap', danced and had an all around fun time.

Being away from everyone this year has been hard, but it's so good to know that some friendships never change. Although we don't see each other, we constantly message, call, and make the most of the weekends we get to see each other. 

"Our paths may change as life goes on but the bond between friends remains ever strong."

Our Wedding

***Disclaimer***
This post may consume much of your time, and have several images containing good times with great people. The writer shall hold all responsibility for the length of this post!

Just over two months ago, I got to marry my best friend. We had such a fantastic day, very relaxed and fun. It was so lovely to be able to share such a special day with all our family and friends. 

Choosing which photos to put up here was very tricky, so I've collaged a few to try and minimise the number! I shall start at the beginning - the morning of the wedding. After going out for sushi the night before, us girls decided to have a nice cooked brekky at our motel. We spent the morning lounging around doing the usual wedding prep of hair and make up whilst listening to music and drinking a bit of wine.

I have always loved bright colours, and though unplanned, I wasn't surprised that the bridesmaids dresses and shoes ended up being so colourful! The shoes looked awesome, but were highly impractical! We all changed to matching flats as soon as the reception began.

As for my dress - it was perfect! I've never been one of those girls who had planned out her 'dream wedding'. I think that made things exceptionally easier when looking for a dress, I had no expectations. Ironically this was the first dress I tried on, and despite trying others, I couldn't get past the first one.

Next topic - flowers, and my girls! Flowers aren't my thing, but I've always loved frangipanis. Big thanks to Blossom and Twine for the amazing job on my flowers. As for my girls... Sam and Shenny are the ones who are there on a daily basis. C.S. Lewis once said - 'Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art... It has no survival value; rather is one of those things that gives value to survival.' These girls make life that much better! Sam, whom I have known about 2 years, is pretty much my other half. We don't always have heaps in common, but I could be with her for hours and not even notice the time fly by. Shenny, I have known since the start of high school. She is quite possibly the most enthusiastic and energetic person I have ever met. The combination of these two, makes for some very fun times, but also means so much support when things are tough. Sam and Shenny are the ones who make me laugh, and oh did we have plenty of laughs on the wedding day! They both bent over backwards to help make our wedding day what we wanted it to be. They made me feel comfortable in settings that were definitely not my thing. I can't thank them enough for the friends they are to me.

As for the guys... I have a thing for the one in the middle ;) Nathan is Sam's fiance - and as I have mentioned before, Jossy's X-box partner in crime. They met through sport, not surprising for either of them. When they're not playing X-box or sport, they are with Sam and I, more often than not, eating! Dan is one of Jossy's (and my) childhood friends. Again, their time together generally includes sport (even if it is sometimes playing FIFA).

We are both very outdoorsy people, and Jossy has always wanted his wedding on a golf course. This of course was fine with me given how stunning golf courses can be! After what seemed like forever, it was finally time to head to the wedding venue, which looked amazing!

Working at a music shop, I was lucky enough to have another staff member and good friend (along with his girlfriend) play live at the wedding. Given my love of music, this was absolutely perfect! They did a wonderful job.

As big a day as this was, and as many people as there were watching us, I actually felt no nerves whatsoever. This next photo is one of my favourites from the day, such a lovely moment captured!

Despite my lack of nerves, walking down the aisle with Dad still felt a little awkward with everyone watching. We found it quite funny!

We had a very relaxed ceremony, taken by a good friend from soccer Damo. He did an incredible job, making the ceremony light and fun although very sincere. 

Our lovely sisters and Dan singing for us while we signed the registry, very bold for Abby and Lete!

After the ceremony we had a few (or not so few) photos with family and friends before we headed off to get bridal party photos. 

I more than doubled my number of sisters in a day! Ironically, every single one their names starts with A!

Our bridal party shots were done in various places around the golf course. Jossy and I had walked the course during the week and scouted all the best places! There were parts of it that had a nice farm feel to it too, a great mix. Lucky for us, we got golf carts to hoon, I mean drive, around in :P

 

Our lovely photographer, Ashleigh, told the boys to high-five each other, pity there's an odd number of them haha!

We had an absolute blast wandering around the golf course and relaxing. We aren't really the typical wedding poses types, so we got lots of natural or funny shots. These guys are seriously the best to be around though. So much energy and excitement! 

The boys had plenty of fun pretending to be good golfers (they're actually not that bad!) and admiring Jossy's shiny new ring!

If you ask Sam and I, the guys were looking pretty suave, certainly had us hooked! 

As much fun as Jossy and I had with our bridal party, we did manage to sneak away for some photos on our own. My favourite time of day is sunset. I can't get enough of the stunning skies that come from this time of day, and was so thrilled we were able to have some amazing sunlight for our photos.

Naturally we thought some sport shots were essential. According to Ashleigh, this is crazy! I would also like to point out this golf shot was set up, I do in fact know how to putt on my own :P

The time on the golf course flew by and before we knew it, we needed to head back for our reception. Some lovely soccer wives organised and set up all our decorations for us. Julie and Laura did a phenomenal job! At the start of all our planning they asked us what things we liked, and from there pretty much just did it all on their own! They came up with so many quirky ideas of cute little touches. It was a very nice surprise arriving to the venue to see what they had created, so very special. Cannot thank them enough for their time and love in decorating for us! 

Also a massive thank you to Amy (my sister-in-law), for the ridiculously incredible cake she made us! I'm not much of a cake person so didn't have that many ideas (thankfully Pinterest did!). Jossy however, had grown up with his mum and Amy making amazing cakes. He wanted a 7 tier cake! This is what Amy came up with!

We had an awesome night, laughing, dancing, chatting and mucking around. It was amusing how little time we spent together though, you get so busy seeing everyone else! Speeches were lovely from all those involved, and kudos to Shenny who managed hers between being sick (the golf course combined with a beer was not a good mix). We were so overwhelmed by the love of all those involved in our wedding. It truly was a very special day that we won't ever forget. Jossy and I both noted that not a lot changed for us after getting married (aside from living together), but it was such a delight to be able to share that day with so many family and friends. 

If you have made it this far, I hope you now have a beverage in your hand. Cheers to family, friends and love :)

'That teacher thing'

It's finally happening, that 'teacher thing'. I have now done several days relief work at one particular school and am shortly starting a contract at that same school. Last week I had the privilege of meeting one of the classes I will be teaching on my contract. They are an amazing class! My English class are a lovely bunch of kids however they do bring a massive range of learning difficulties and special needs to the classroom. This will by far be the biggest challenge in my teaching so far! The students were all incredibly friendly, and they are a very vibrant class with plenty of questions for me. I can see myself having a lot of fun teaching these kids, but I’ve been told they will also drive me up the wall at times. I’m ridiculously excited to have my own class, and even more excited to have the challenge of figuring out what makes these kids tick! 

One of the best parts about teaching, is knowing the students appreciate you. The first sense of accomplishment for me - having a student say 'hi Mrs Rushton' to me at the shops. To some, this may be a bit weird, having students see you in and around the place. Living in a small town though, this is pretty normal, and almost cool. It's all just part of 'that teacher thing', and I absolutely love it!