I GRADUATED!!!!! Now What

Is this real or is this a dream? I seriously can't believe this day is here! I feel like the last 3 years of my life have both crept by and flown furiously. (Oh, and if you are wondering why I say 3 years, it is because I went into college with a LOT of hours so I got to graduate early) But seriously, if you have kept up with my other posts about college or happen to have been following along with the adventures of Minnie Muse for 2-3 years you have probably heard a good bit about my college experience. 

It has been both the hardest and most rewarding 3 years but the payoff is worth it because today I am GRADUATING COLLEGE! That is still crazy to say:) 3 years ago I wouldn't have been able to comprehend that yet another chapter of my life would be ending as another awaits beyond the horizon, but yet here I stand, looking out over the valley that is my future!

So....now what? What is next for me? Well.....I majored in Family and Consumer Science (which is what most people know as Home Economics or as some jokingly call the true the "Mrs. Degree"). Apart from my major, I minored in Secondary Education which means (after I complete all my certification tests) I can teach Family and Consumer Science (which is what I did this semester during student teaching). While my degree is broad and there is definitely I LOT I could do with it, and much I am interested, my plan right now is to become a Family and Consumer Science teacher at the High School Level. However, I don't want to jump into getting a teaching job right away.

You see, the thing I have come to realize over this last semester is that everyone (mostly) always seems to be pushing you to dive right into a job or career or to get an actual teaching gig right away.....but you just spent the last 4 (or 3) years of your life in classes, studying and taking tests to get a degree....you need a moment to just be. To just be a person, not a college student......so I need a moment to just be Madison. Now, I am not saying this in a negative way. Many of the people I went through Methods and Student Teaching with have gotten jobs or plan to in the next month, and I am so happy for them, but I knew for me I needed time before I dive into teaching full time. With that being said, this doesn't mean I am going to sit around all day watching Netflix (only on Friday nights) but it does mean I can pursue the things I didn't have time to in college and also work a part time job. I get a moment to breathe and see what the world has to offer for a few months without the looming expanse of GRADUATION. 

Thus, my plan for the spring is to study and take my tests to get certified as a Family and Consumer Science teacher. Sub at various schools in the school district I eventually want to get a job at next fall, and also pick up my old part time job working at a local tea room. So I am not completely without a plan, and honestly no plan would probably stress me out, but there awaits a future of unknowns, possibilities, and infinite opportunities and I cannot wait to see what God has in store!

-Madison