The words “attitude adjustment” perfectly describe what I’ve been going through in these first few days of school.

Day 1: I was not quite the happy camper. Why? There was absolutely no reason except that I just had a bad attitude. I had this dread of standing up in front of people all day, and by 3rd hour I was thinking I needed a new profession because this one was just too stressful.

This attitude had nothing to do with my students. It was the first day; there were no problems. I was just having a problem getting into the swing of things and being a real person again.

Luckily I’m a fabulous actress, so my attitude did NOT overflow into my treatment of my new students. I was charming as always. I was just secretly angry.

Days 2 and 3: Slowly, slowly, I am getting into the swing of things. I am enjoying myself more in class and not dreading being in front of people.

It all boils down to this: I love people. My love for people is why I’m a teacher, and now that I’m surrounding with 100’s of people who, for 45 minutes, depend on me, I am rising to the occasion. More than any piddly laziness on my part, I want to give my students the best possible learning experience that I can. Yes, this means hard work for me. But if I can benefit their lives in some way, it’s worth it.

It doesn’t hurt to have former students shouting hello and asking me about my wedding and clearly being happy to see me. Again, I feel so much more like a part of a community. Being surrounded by people, whether they love me, hate me, or don’t know me, reminds me that this is exactly where I am meant to be. My attitude has been adjusted.

Last year in my first year teaching I spent all of my time working on school. All of it. My poor then-fiance was incredibly understanding with my tendency to not speak to him a lot. First semester especially, I really worked from the moment I got up to the moment I went to bed. It was crazy. Second semester I got better, partly because I was planning a wedding and had a lot of extracurricular responsiblities to deal with.

My fear for this year is that I will revert to my workaholic ways. That’s fine, but I also want to make sure I spend time with my now-husband. It’s been so nice really spending time with him this summer. Second semester I really didn’t feel anymore behind than first, even though I was doing less work. So that means I shouldn’t have to do work all the time, right? It helps that I know the ropes a little more now. But, I also know that I am a perfectionist. I get bogged down in details, and I can’t let go of things if they aren’t done.

I’m really hoping to maintain a better balance, because it makes me a happier person. Are there any secret tips that other educators have to manage time? I wonder.