Another semester finished and another group of students to miss.

As my students were leaving my classroom after our last meeting today, a few of them hugged me, others stopped to chat about their final projects, and some even took the time to thank me for the course. With wishes of good luck in finishing up projects and future endeavors, I was hit with the familiar bittersweet feeling of the ending of another semester in my teaching career.

Just as I was gathering my items a passerby asked, "With all those comments about how it was great having them, I’m sure there were a few you were happy to see move on."

It honestly took me by surprise. On one hand, of course I’m happy to see my students move on from my classroom doors but only in the most positive sense because it means we were successful and they're on to their next goals. On the other hand, all I could think, was that if someone was that excited for the course experience to end (and I don't mean just the semester work, because we all know that's a moment of celebration that no one sleeps on, I mean the true experience) then we're doing something wrong.

My students are challenging, funny, frustrating at times, creative, somehow shy and overly outgoing at the same time, and capable of rising to any high expectation set for them. I won't speak for anyone else, but I leave a piece of myself in each classroom and with each course and I am thankful for each chance I get to work with students; if given the chance, they will teach you more than you could ever hope to learn.

I don't think I could ever find a profession I love more than education.

Stay tuned in the next week or so for the social media sharing of their Dream Projects. They're working to change the world around them and are creating amazing things that I know you'll want to check out!

#dreamprojects #HigherEd #education #AdjunctLife #teaching #students