My first official day in my classroom was truly filled with excitement, high expectations and an overwhelmingly realization that this was it! This is what I had been working towards since first grade when I made the decision of becoming a teacher. Little did I know that my expectations would only cause me initial stress.

Most teachers will tell you that teaching is not the simplest profession but that it can be rewarding. Yet, rare is the number of teachers that will bluntly admit that classroom management is only half of the battle. Little did I know that the rewarding aspect of this profession would not be an immediate one.

As the end of the school year approaches I have decided to quit... hoping that my students would just grow up, for teenage years are the years in which they begin to experience physical and mental changes that they themselves cannot control.

I have also decided to quit stressing over the short-standing battles and solely focus on the long run battles that will be present throughout the entire school year. For I much rather focus on classroom expectations and all of the learning that can occur, rather than why one student does not have a pencil that day.

Lastly, I have decided to quit and terminate any negativity from any source in my classroom, my hallway and those my students and I interact with. For my classroom will not just be a learning center, but it will also serve as a safe haven for students to feel comfortable with whom they are, what they believe and how they perceive the world.

All in all, I have decided to quit anything that may come at the expense of my students being successful in all that they set out to do. For they will be successful, they will achieve their goals, and I will never quit on them.